Hello, Nurse
by bluetreeleaves
Summary: COMPLETE: AU A Valentine's Day story: No one had come to visit this particular patient even when he had been first rushed through Emergency. Now in long-term care, he'd have to suffer as her break time hiding spot because of her strange habit: reading out loud. Rated M for language and violence
1. Chapter 1: The Nurse and The Girl

**Happy Valentine's Day week to everyone! Many of you have probably been like, "Hey, do you remember that author that writes all the Escaflowne stuff?" Well, I'm here to be like, "Yeah, man! I'm still doing stuff, too!" I've got a chapter started on Rutilus, I've got Be Ready sliiiiiiightly typed on, but I wanted to give you this as a chapter-a-day present to all my lovely people out there! It's a simple story and I'll be putting a disclaimer on it since it has scenes straight from the anime. Better get that out of the way actually:**

**A lot of story elements belong solely to Kazuki Akane, Funimation, and Sunrise. I claim nothing. **

**Alright, that's done. **

**Just a fair warning, each chapter is really long. This is probably my shortest one. **

**HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!**

* * *

Closing her green eyes tightly for only a brief moment, she stood outside the door clutching the new copy of Selena Schezar's _A Girl from the Mysic Moon_ to her breast. Opening the silent door, the tiny beeps of a steady heartbeat greeted her like a welcomed friend. She walked over in the darkening room to perch continently on one of the comfortable chairs provided for family members.

The seat was cold.

No one had come to visit this particular patient even when he had been first rushed through Emergency. Apparently, a stranger had called the ambulance for him. They had gotten his name and information from his driver's license in his wallet. He'd slipped into a coma during surgery and had been out for almost a week. She'd been assigned as his caretaker only a few days ago once he had been declared a long-term patient. She was informed his next of kin had been notified, but – unlike her other patients around the ward – Mr. Fanel remained the only one without guests.

Therefore, like the night before last, the poor man would have to suffer as her break room during the shift. She could just as easily read in the regular break room designed for staff, but Hitomi had a strange habit when she read: she liked to read out loud. She even did voices to entertain herself. She liked to think it was from her own strange quirk, but in reality it was probably because of loneliness. Reading out loud, making the characters voices, personalities, and lives come to blossom made her world seem not so empty. These stories, though she knew that's what they were: "just stories", became more than that when she did this. They became her companions. Her comforters.

And maybe… just maybe… the never visited Mr. Fanel could hear her. They could be _his _companions as well… And she couldn't bear feeling alone. She would never wish that on anyone. It was a crippling pain she knew only too well.

So, in her mind, this had turned into a two birds with one stone kind of deal.

Folding her legs on the seat like a child, she nuzzled in her thick sweater that covered her blue scrubs and opened her book from her bookmark. "Let's see, chapter two-chapter two… ah!" with a delighted smile appearing on her face, she glanced quickly at the comatose man beeping beside her and then back down.

"_Chapter Two: A New King. Prince was very rude to her_," she read out loud to herself, "_but the bustling city of Fanelia welcomed him home with waving hands and open arms and smiling faces. As the large wooden doors opened, a burst of applause brushed forth like a stampede. Like the dogman that had found them in the Arzaz Valley, the young girl suddenly found herself surrounded by crowds of people sporting fur, feather, and long ears. Human-animal hybrids? What in the world was this place? Giant windmills spinning lazily in the breeze, Fanelia looked more like a cluster of tiny houses all piled close together in rows. That was her thought until she saw the large palace rising up through the cottages. It was quite an impressive sight. To her surprise, the girl watched the boy leap off the giant ride with the grace of an athlete and land perfectly on the ground._"

Hitomi rose her tone and squealed, "'_My Lord!' a voice cried out from the crowd. 'My Loooooord!'_"

The Nurse lowered her voice slightly and said, "'_Merle!' the prince shouted in delight as a pink haired blur rushed into his arms. _

'_I'm so glad you made it back safely!'" _She squealed again._ "'You know, I was so worried about you, My Lord!' _

Hitomi switched to her regular voice. _It's a talking cat!__The mystic moon girl thought with a blink. It's really a talking cat! _

_The pink haired, orange skinned Merle licked the prince's cheek as he laughed and gently rebuffed, 'Hey! Come on! Stop that! Everyone's watching!'_

'_I'm just so happy to see you.' The cat girl Merle giggled and continued her onslaught._

'_Cut that out, will ya?' _

'_Great. First a wolf man and now a little cat girl,' the forgotten girl whispered to herself rolling her eyes upward._"

On and on through the two hours, Hitomi continued to read the story out loud, switching from one voice to another; making up new voices as new characters came into play. Upon reaching the coronation for the new king, she glanced at her watch and sighed. It was almost midnight. And almost time to go back on the clock.

Christmas Day would be here soon.

Having been at the hospital for two years as a caretaker, Hitomi Kanzaki had spent practically every holiday at the hospital so her co-workers could be with family. Not that she didn't want the time off. It was just easier this way. She'd be alone in her apartment anyways. Might as well help out her friends here at the hospital with husbands and wives and children to celebrate with. And she could celebrate Christmas Eve here with dear old Mole. Despite his misbehaving talents at snagging a cake or two from the kitchen, Mole was one of the nicest janitors she'd ever met. He even gave her a gold chain to put her lucky pink stone charm on for her birthday. She had his favorite chocolates waiting for him in her locker as a Christmas present.

Maybe the old thief had snatched an extra cake to celebrate the holiday.

"Well, it looks like you are missing a holiday with your family, Mr. Fanel. I'm sorry that you have to spend a little bit of it with me. There really is nowhere else you can read out loud without looking like an idiot." she confessed softly to the quiet man, shutting her book after replacing her bookmark. His long-ish black hair was spread over the pillow. His tan arms laid still by his side. Tilting her head slightly and brushing her short brown locks out of her eyes, she smiled to herself for a few more seconds just looking at the man.

"I better go." Hitomi stood and stretched. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Fanel. I hope you wake up soon."

Opening the door, she gave him one last look before closing it quietly.

* * *

"Can you believe it's almost January already? It feels like yesterday was Halloween," Yukari practically glowed as she drained the catheter bag underneath the bed. "And soon it will be February! I love February!"

"You have a good reason to love it." Hitomi said to her auburn-headed friend as she lifted the patient's leg and rubbed in more lotion. "I wonder if your man has anything planned for you already. He seems like the prepared type."

"I actually asked him about that the other day and he told me he has something reserved special for us, but he doesn't want me to know. I'm hoping it's a bit of bling, if you know what I mean."

"A bit of a bling?" Hitomi asked confused before her face lit up with realization. "Wait. An _engagement_ ring? Seriously? Yukari, you guys have only been going out for _five_ months."

"But he's totally the one, you know? We both can just… _feel it_…" Yukari straightened up clutching a full urine bag, closed her eyes dreamily, and pressed the bag against her heart to sigh, "He loves me for who I am. Birthmarks, messy hair, and all.

"You must love him a lot considering you are cuddling urine just thinking about him," Hitomi giggled.

Yukari dropped her arm quickly and continued, "He loves my parents, too. We even have family game night every other Wednesday with them. You should come. My mom asks after you all the time. She swears up and down that if she doesn't feed you you'll just waste away."

Hitomi smiled and lowered the massaged leg. "Your mom has always been like that with me."

"That's why you've got to come!"

"The schedule has me working every Wednesday night next month."

"It doesn't have to be anytime soon! Make it for February!"

"I'll think about it." The short haired girl agreed. "If I can get off work then-"

"You work every stinkin' holiday on purpose. You can get a day off anytime you want and you know it. Even the chart-running-Nazi, Millerna, has agreed you need a break."

"I need the money," Hitomi shrugged, avoiding Yukari's eye and moving up to fluff the patient's pillow.

"You shouldn't be alone on holidays. It's not healthy."

"I'm not alone. I'm here."

Yukari rolled her eyes and moved to drop the packaged urine in the toxic wastes trashcan. Snapping off her gloves, her long auburn ponytail swung back and forth as she shook her head and said, "I just don't understand you sometimes."

"What can I say? I'm a box of mysteries disguised in scrubs."

"More like a weirdo loner who hangs around coma people for fun."

Hitomi chuckled, "I'll keep you posted about Wednesday's okay?"

"If that's the best I can get out of you, then I guess that's that." Yukari turned to the door with a resigning shrug. "At least promise me we will go out this week. You need human interaction besides the comatose and high-strung Nurses."

"I'll try."

* * *

The beeping… always the sound of beeping. And though Nurses came and went throughout the day, he really had no one here except for a beeping machine.

He had first woken to the sound of beeping after his attack about three days ago. Trapped in this now unresponsive body, his knew for a fact his hearing and touch were still functional. Everything else seemed to be on stand-off mode.

His body felt tired and he briefly wondered if it was night yet.

That reading Nurse would come soon if it was.

It was about an hour later that his door opened and shut, familiar soft foot-steps of tennis shoes pressed on the tile floor, and there came a long sigh as someone sat in a chair to his right.

"Okay, I was in the middle of chapter two," the female voice whispered and a crackle of paper proceeded the announcement. "That's right, the prince's coronation ceremony…"

And then she read and read and read. It seemed like for hours, she read out loud to him, making up the most ridiculous voices. The little cat girl, Merle, was an annoying squeak. The manly Balgus was a humorous struggle for a baritone. Prince held a heavy low air of importance. As a prince should, Van agreed in his head. A prince – soon to be a future king – should have a voice like that.

Sometimes the Nurse would break out of character and add her own commentary. "What a _jerk!_" She'd cried out the night the two characters had first met. When the girl had slapped the prince hard in the face, she actually cheered. Van was irritated at that. The prince had just saved the girl and her friends' idiotic lives several times from a _dragon_. Just because she had one trip-out session and shouted out a warning, she suddenly thought she was entitled to slap him. This was even _after _he'd politely invited her back to his castle as a thank you.

One strange thing that irked him was it seemed like some of the main character's names weren't fully established. The author addressed them with their titles: 'prince' and 'girl'. Even the other characters were starting to call the prince 'King' now that the coronation was starting.

Van didn't like it. He felt like it was laziness on the author's part. Like a whole chunk of the story was missing somehow.

But whatever.

Now Van listened as the coronation was interrupted by something. The reading Nurse's tone took a turn for low and dark as she described a scene of gore and destruction. Houses and streets in flames, invisible monsters attacking in wave after wave. Each man crying out for the glory of Fanelia only to fall in blood and death.

What the hell kind of book was this!?

The little Nurse's voice actually broke as she read of the girl and prince's daring escape. The walls crumbling around them. The prince held up the dragon soul he'd collected from his journey and another robot giant fell from the ceiling. The boy bravely entered the giant called _Escaflowne_ and charged as more invisible enemies called Guymelefs began to surround them. It looked like the prince would lose, but then the girl realized she could see the enemy's forms somehow and could warn the boy of their attacks.

If Van had the ability, he'd have rolled his eyes in distaste. That was _quite_ the deus ex machina…

A sob escaped her at the sudden appearance of Balgus and Van turned his ear back to her. The old man who had mentored the young prince, who had served as a general to his father's army, had jumped out of nowhere to save the boy from an attack to his back. The man had urged the boy to get out and the prince had turned in the robot thingy to pick up the girl like a doll.

"_The Escaflowne stomped out of the chapel and the king halted with a small slide on the debris. The girl felt the Escaflowne's hand tremble around her body as the world before their eyes burned with a fiery ash._ _Everywhere were the fallen corpses of those that had died to protect this once beautiful city. Pieces of mecha lay in piles. Blood gushed out of pilot chambers. Spears protruded out of crushed remains._

_The king's voice was panicked from the helm, 'That's enough, Balgus. Retreat!'_

_Meanwhile, the girl felt her vision begin to waver, her new powers flaring another sharp warning: 'Oh, no… Hey! Look out!' She shrieked to the older man._

_Balgus turned to glance behind him. _

_Too late._

_The invisible mecha's arm shivered into view only a few seconds and fired only one simple shot. _

_He wasn't fast enough._

_He fell._

'_BALGUS!' The king screamed as the flaming world took a slow motion dive. The Escaflowne collapsed to his knees before the broken body. The man who had been his mentor, his general, his friend._

'_Balgus, no…' the girl murmured in her horror. Her eyes watched the pool of blood escaping._

_With the last of his strength, the shattered mentor rose up to see his king for the last time. 'Your Majesty… take the Escaflowne and flee… and someday return… and rebuild our native home, My Lord. Reunite the people… of Fanelia…'_

_The king was silent for a brief moment. His entire world splitting apart. His bright mahogany eyes fixed on the fallen form before him. 'Balgus! No!' He shouted as if his voice could bring him back. The girl's hands shook, her eyes locked tight on the dead man. Small whimpering sounds escaped her throat. All around them appeared the invisible mecha, their stealth cloaks tossed aside in the wave of their victory. A bright hot light hit her chest as a wave of panic, fear, and pain came crashing forth and she curled around the fingers of the Escaflowne. _

_A beam of light engulfed their world, brighter than any fire, sharper than any arrow. _

_And as it faded away, king, girl, and mecha had vanished with it."_

"Oh, crap! I'm five minutes late!" she exclaimed and - if Van could - he would have jumped in surprise. Snapping the book shut, she hurriedly got to her feet. He expected her to leave, but he suddenly felt her eyes on his face.

"Thank you, Mr. Fanel. That was an exciting chapter. I hope you wake up soon."

Van wanted to roll his eyes, but all he could manage was the steady beats from the machine monitoring his heart. Every night she said the same thing. _I hope you wake up soon. _

He heard her leave and instead of falling asleep like he usually did, his restless mind turned to the story. The new king lost his entire country in one single chapter. Everything in his life: gone with the snap of a finger. His people slaughtered, his homeland destroyed, his mentor dead, and his annoying cat-girl friend probably in the same boat. There was no one left for the king except for some robot machine and some whiny brat who somehow had the power to see invisible things.

Slowly, as the beeps continued to do their rhythmic recording of his calm heart, he realized how much in common he had with the boy in the story. Like the king, he'd once been a ruler of an empire of sorts. He'd lost everything. It had also burned in a fire, scorching in front of his very eyes. His hard work ending in nothing…

And now, stuck in this limbo, all he had was a machine and a strange woman for company.

He just hoped a beam of light wouldn't come for him.

That meant something _completely _different in this reality.

* * *

He was in the dark.

He was sitting in the dark.

His eyes had rolled over the list, the constant ever-growing list of names that stood in their way. The names of people they had to eliminate.

For the greater good.

He'd join because he'd wanted to tap one of those sexy twins. He'd joined because power was a seducer he just couldn't refuse. Sex, money, power… the ladies walked by him as if he didn't exist.

He'd failed in his mission.

But…

In a way…

He was relieved.

'It was for the greater good!'

'The company to pull the world back on its feet!'

'To forgo the protection from 'The Man' or 'Big Government' and handle ourselves for ourselves!'

'And therefore, sacrifices must be made by all!'

Sacrifices… but for him a single hard sacrifice…

Sitting in the dark.

Alone in the dark.

Sex, money, power…

* * *

The day had been normal rounds, but – once again asked to do the night shift – Hitomi felt a strange excitement. Two of her patients had been discharged from the hospital and she was freed up for the first time in months. Usually the beds were filled the moment they were free, but no one had come from ICU or Emergency or Surgery…

Grabbing her book once the coats of the other day Nurses had disappeared with their owners, she did her rounds and made sure her other patients were comfortable.

She saved Mr. Fanel's room for last.

She opened the door happily and sat down in the chair.

"Here we go! I get to read for a long time now! Oh, this is going to be so good!" She placed her phone on her knee once her legs were curled in their proper position on the chair. "Let's see where this beam of light took them!"

* * *

The door shut behind her after her usual "I hope you wake up soon" and Van let out a mental sigh of relief. Why would this woman chose _his_ room out of all the rooms in this hospital to read such a retarded book? Yeah, sure, he was in a coma, but coma patients had their preferences on reading material and this shit really was the _worst_!

This story had taken an interesting turn with the destruction of Fanelia only to plunge straight into the toilet with the mention of a new character: Knight, the Soldier of Caeli. Ugh, even his _name_ sounded retarded. Knight appeared randomly after the beam of light got the king and girl away from Fanelia – deus ex machina style - and the stupid vision girl got attacked by some creepy weirdo and then fainted after she thought Knight was her crush from her old world because she's stupid and the king even _tried _to save her from Knight, but no. Knight knocked the king out because of _course_ he does. The Nurse didn't even bat an eye when this happened! After all the king had been through and she goes back to _reread the description of the Knight two more times_.

So Knight takes them to his garrison on the outskirts of Austuria or whatever and realizes, "Hey, I'm a moron and I have the King of Fanelia at my place. I won't let him go because I'm a moron." And Knight refused to let the king go back to Fanelia and rebuild his country! How retarded is this guy!? To capture a foreign sovereign in your territory and then hold him hostage while you twiddle your thumbs and flirt away with the crazy chick. Knight isn't an antagonist or a protagonist at this point! He's a nuisance! He's just in the way of the king getting vengeance for his country!

And the unquestionably awful way the book described the interaction between the girl and Knight. It was not even worth using as toilet paper! The book had shifted a 180 from a fairly interesting fantasy into a slightly-disturbing romance between an underage pre-teen sporting delusional fantasies and a middle-aged pervert looking to score some young tail.

It got even worse once they figure out that this country called Zaibach is the reason behind the attack on Fanelia. And speaking of crazy, they have this Dilly-Doo guy right there in the meeting room and it is so obvious he was part of the attack on Fanelia and Knight just bents over backwards and let's himself get spanked by the weirdo. Meanwhile, the poor king gets locked away and only gets out of there because of this wack-job thief man. After a semi- pointless fight sequence between the two of them in those Guymelef things – which Van had to admit, was kind of cool – it gets interrupted by that annoying cat girl who is somehow still alive! And more talking and debating and the vision girl gets sick blah, blah, blah!

Seriously, where did all the destruction _go?_

Oh yeah, it's in the next chapter.

The garrison gets attacked because Knight the derp let Dilly-Doo the Psycho go and he ended up attacking it because duh. Yeah, real smart move there, jackass. You had the guy right in your hand and you just let him go to attack you. The Nurse kept going on and on about how awesome the Knight was and how he was such an amazing addition to the character list. The only thing the guy has done so far is make mistake after mistake and _he's amazing? _No wonder books these days were garbage!

So, his garrison is attacked, right? The idiot doesn't _even_ _fight back_! His entire hold is demolished and he retreats like a little bitch even though he has the manpower to hold his ground! The king states the obvious – that they have the manpower to stand their ground - and he gets shut down, his magical Guymelef is packed up without his consent, and then, damn it, the _king _has to go out there and risk his life because they were being pursued! King -being so much better than Knight the derp - actually changes the Escaflowne into a damn dragon and flies off like a boss!

But all this crap happened because Knight was some silly-ass bitch and couldn't fend for himself or protect his men! Ugh.

This story was terrible!

The Nurse happily finished the chapter with the king getting taken by Zaibach because Knight the derp's a bitch and incompetent. After saying her usual farewell ("I hope you wake up soon"), Van finally settled back grumpily to fall asleep.

Van kind of wished she'd stop coming.

* * *

Hitomi was busy!

She was given four new patients from ICU and two had tracheotomies that needed to be cleaned every hour. Having taken care of setting up the IVs and making sure each one was comfortable, she was informed that someone needed assistance on the toilet. It had been steady like this, constant going and going and going. She hadn't sat down to rest in at least ten hours. Her phone had buzzed every time she started on a new patient. Yukari – just as busy – high-fived her every time they rushed past each other.

Hers was a friendship Hitomi would always cherish.

"We have _got _to get drinks after a day like this! And besides, it's the last holiday of the season." The auburn head announced as Hitomi typed quickly on the small iPad in her arms. Glancing up, HItomi smiled softly before flicking her fingers back over the screen.

"Oh-oh no, you don't!" Yukari accused. "Don't you give me that smile."

"What smile?" Hitomi asked confused stopping only briefly to tilt her head at her friend.

"That smile of 'I want Yukari to think I want to go out with her but I really don't want to go' smile. It's a _super_ annoying smile."

"But I _do _want to. It's just that I have to wor-"

"No. No, no, no, you are not working _another double_. It's New Year's Eve!"

Hitomi shrugged. "I'm on the schedule."

"That means you have pulled three doubles in one week! That's insane, Hitomi! You need sleep! Or a therapist or something. This is not natural!" Yukari's hand was on her hip. The short-haired girl swallowed her groan. Once the hand hit the hip there was nothing to sway Yukari's resolve.

"Get that hand off that hip, Yukari! I am on the schedule for Jessica."

"Jessica? The Jessica who was supposed to work last night with you? The one who was hired specifically for night shift?"

"Yeah…" Hitomi kept her eyes glued on the screen. "She has a party to attend. I don't mind."

"You are such a push over. Stand up for yourself."

"The night shift isn't that bad. It's actually kind of peaceful."

"But you need sleep! Look at yourself in the mirror, Hitomi. You look dead on your feet."

"That's just because today has been so busy."

"Go home or come out with me. Those are your only option. You are not going to be here!"

_Oh crap,_ Hitomi thought glumly. _Both hands are on her hips now…_

"But what about Millerna…?"

"You let _me _handle Millerna."

She was out of options. Looked like _Mystic Moon _and Knight would have to wait for next year.

"Okay…"

* * *

Okay…

So, she was usually here right about now.

It was getting close to her break time during the evening shift.

He hoped she wouldn't read so much this time.

* * *

"Are you having fun, Hitomi? Isn't this place great?" Yukari asked happily over the pounding speakers as she sipped her glass of wine. They leaned against the sticky bar; lights and wiggling bodies gyrating to the music. Glancing down at her barely touched strawberry margarita, Hitomi gave her friend a smile.

"Oh, come on, not the smile _again_."

"That wasn't the same smile!" Hitomi protested, taking a quick sip of her drink just to sooth her friend feelings. The sweet drink hardly masked the tequila inside and she made a face. Alcohol wasn't her favorite, but apparently that was what was socially acceptable this time of night, especially at places like this. Touching her pinned up short curls with a nervous hand, the green eyed woman felt like her eyelashes were too heavy and her mouth too slimy. It had been months since she'd last worn make-up. Instead of prettier or sexier, she just felt like a fool in clown make-up.

"Okay, I got it. We need to find you someone to dance with! Or maybe someone to kiss you for New Year." Yukari said swiftly, taking another drink of her wine. "Look around, Hitomi. See anyone you want?"

"Dancing? Kissing?" Her green eyes tossed over the large crowd that surrounded the bar with a twinge of fear. "Yukari, I don't dance. I am a horrible dancer. And I'm not sure about-"

"No, you're not! You're a great dancer. I've seen you dancing in the living room when we were roommates in college!"

"Yeah, but that was only with you and those moves were from Richard Simmons: Sweatin' to the Oldies…" her fingers had started nervously twisting together. Her breath was coming in short gasps.

"Look, there's a guy right there! He's cute!" The auburn pointed over Hitomi's shoulder and she looked automatically. Her heart skipped a beat as her green eyes connected with the clearest blue she'd ever seen. His yellow hair was long for a man's and it glistened in the low lights like an angel. He gave her a lopsided grin and she twisted back to her friend in surprise.

"He smiled at me! Yukari, he's really cute!"

"Then go say hi!"

"But-but I can't!"

"Yes, you can, you coward!"

"I think I might hyperventilate." Indeed her breathing was becoming irregular.

"Okay, don't have a heart attack on me, but he's coming up."

"He's _what_!?"

"Yeah, so please don't-"

Whatever Hitomi shouldn't have done was lost as she felt a finger tap her shoulder. Tensing, she turned slowly and her nose almost touched his chest. Backing away swiftly, she almost hit Yukari.

"Careful there," he said with a gentle voice. "Can't have you falling on the floor and messing up this pretty dress."

"N-no, I-I am not, I mean I _will _not fall. You were really close." Feeling her cheeks grow red, she gave him a smile. "You surprised me is all."

"Oh, am I that surprising?" His eyes flickered with charm. "Can I surprise you further by asking for a dance?"

"Nah-"

"She means yes!" Yukari interrupted and pushed the back of Hitomi's head so her face planted on his white shirt. A bit of pink lipstick print was there when she backed away in horror.

"Careful now!" the man cried out looking at her concerned. "Are you alright? Did you smash your nose?"

She had and it hurt really badly, but he didn't need to know that.

"Are okay to dance?"

With a sheepish smile, she nodded that she was fine.

But to her horror, he took that as 'let's go dance' and next thing she knew her arm was wrapped in his and it was off to the dance floor –

And her social doom.

* * *

Where was she?

This was getting ridiculous.

Van had almost fallen asleep three times waiting for this reading Nurse to show up. The only ones he kept hearing were the usual checkups to see if he was still breathing. Did she forget about the book? Was she too busy? Did she have something else to do on break?

Did… she not want to read in his room anymore?

* * *

Allen. His name was Allen.

And he swept her around the dance floor better than any Richard Simmons workout video. She twirled in his arms even when the music hardly called for such classy dancing. It was sensational. It was beautiful. She felt alive dancing with Allen. And he looked at her like she was something he'd never seen before. Something precious that had been locked away for centuries only to be discovered and brought forth for the world to speculate. She felt like Cinderella.

When he asked for her number, she wholeheartedly gave it to him. As the New Year rolled by, he leaned forward for her lips, but she turned her head shyly. Smiling, Allen kissed her cheek instead and hugged her.

He was so chivalrous. So handsome.

In her mind, she already called him 'Knight'.

He would be who she pictured when she read the book tomorrow evening.

But this time, he could be her_ real life _Knight.

* * *

Van woke up from a short nap as soon as he heard her voice enter his room the next morning. She was excitedly talking to another Nurse. He knew it was irrational, but he was actually kind of mad at her. In a way, she'd stood him up.

Not that he wanted her there in the first place.

But then he caught what she was saying…

"…already texting me, Yukari!"

"I'm so happy for you! I'm sure he's trying to set up another time to meet you. This is going to be such a good year for you."

"He just said the word 'hello', not asking me on a date or anything." She sounded bashful yet proud.

So… she'd met a guy the other night… _interesting_…. Van mused

"You know what this means, right?" The Nurse Yukari asked as she checked Van's fluid line – he felt a tug on his IV.

"What?" The reading Nurse was at his right side. He felt the sheets lift and smelled something horrible.

Wait… he could _smell?_ Since when!?

"Oh, no, Mr. Fanel had a bowel movement and Jessica didn't give him a proper bed pad. See? This is why I-"

"_You know what this means, right?_" her friend repeated sternly.

"What? What does it mean? Can you hand me those towels?"

"You're going to have to cut back on night shifts! If Allen wants to date you then you've got to be available for him."

It couldn't have been just him. The room actually seemed to freeze on spot. The silence filled the smelly air and spotlighted on this brief moment.

Finally, Van felt the cold on his privates as the sheet and gown were lifted and rolled back to clean his mess. Though he felt a slight embarrassment, he was more interested in trying to figure out the Nurse's reaction. Who was this texting dude? How did they meet? Did she really want to see him again that badly? Would she actually stop coming to read? He knew he'd feel a sense of relief if she moved on from his room. And who wouldn't?

"I guess I might have to. It's nothing serious. We just exchanged numbers. And besides, he's probably got about forty girl's numbers on his pinned on his fridge and he's texting each one as we speak."

"Never hurts to keep options open. If Allen doesn't turn out to be the one, then maybe he has friends. They always have friends."

"That's true, I guess." Her phone blipped another message and she sighed. "I'll talk with Millerna about changing out my shift. Maybe if I only take night shift three times a week or something…" Spreading out the sheet, both Nurses worked silently to change his bed and gown and left without speaking further.

They left Van with clean sheets, but unheard thoughts.

* * *

That night, he waited.

She was a no show.

* * *

The next night she came a bit earlier than expected. As she sat in the chair, he waited for the familiar crackle of the book, but it remained shut for a brief moment. He heard small tapping and realized she was texting on her phone. Probably that Allen guy she'd talked about before. He wondered if they had actually gone on a date last night since she wasn't at work.

He heard her sigh quietly. Was that a sigh of love? Hate? Sadness? Not… that he cared. Actually, no, he did care. This was interesting. After hours of nothing but himself for company, he finally had something to else to concentrate on.

The tell-tale crick of a book's spine was heard and her throat cleared briskly. "That's right, poor king," she whispered as she remembered what had happened. "He was taken by Zaibach."

Yeah, no kidding. Van had been waiting to hear what happened to him.

"'_Any orders, Commander?' Knight's second whispered quietly. Knight turned to him and murmured, 'How many men do we have?'_

'_There's seven, including me.' _

_Knight touched his chin in thought. 'So a frontal assault against the floating fortress would be difficult. Anyway, we have to find them first.' Knight noticed the girl's face fall slightly and then rise in determination. "Knight, excuse me, Knight, I might be able to find out where the king is.'_

'_Well… you did guess right about the attack on the castle, but I-'_

'_That's right! And it wasn't a coincidence! I can feel it! You see… ever since I was a little girl my hunches have been right, but now… I can't explain it, but that power has been growing stronger.' She stopped and her breath caught as the Knight placed his arms strong on her small shoulders.'_

'_Well, that may be true, but this job is really for us Knights. You understand.' He stroked her hair gently and turned away. _"That condescending jerk!" she siad angrily. "She did predict it just as she said! Seriously, men! Give her a chance!"

'_Knight! Why not give me a try?' the girl said desperately. 'Will you? Please?'_

_Knight turned to her, his face full of surprise."_

The book decided to cut that scene and move on to Zaibach and reveal some of the enemies they were against. Van tuned it out slightly – nothing but talking - until he heard her read the word: Escaflowne. Trying to catch back up, he caught that Dilly-Doo wanted to kill the samurai inside the robot not knowing that the King of Fanelia was in there. A new character named Stratego silenced Dilly-Doo, opened the pilot chamber on the Guymelef somehow, and out plops the king, who immediately passes out. Van felt a little bit of worry for his favorite character until - the book cut to yet another scene! That was annoying!

It switched back to the girl doing some tarot card reading thing for Knight. He heard the Nurse's voice get warm when she touched Knight's dialogue. For the hundredth time, Van wished he could roll his eyes. As the girl started describing Knight's past through the cards – deus ex machina count number who knows anymore – the Nurse actually gasped as she reads his father left the family and his sister was kidnapped and his mother died and blah, blah, blah, long story short: Van hated Knight. King was so much more interesting that that derp. And he was in Zaibach castle thingy! He was going to get killed! Knight finally believed the deus ex machina girl and she's got to use some kinda voodoo thing with her necklace to find the king.

Finally! King action! Van listened intently:

"_The bedroom was dark as the boy slowly roused. A familiar whistling tune singing in the air around his head filled him with memories long since forgotten. He knew that music. It was Fanelia's music. Glancing to his left he saw the black shadow of a dark cloak. He sat up quickly as he realized a figure was in the room with him._

'_Who's there?' He challenged. The figure turned to move closer. 'How do you know that Fanelia song?'_

_The figure remained quiet. With a quick intake of breath, the king noticed his sword lying on the desk and rushed off the bed to snatch it. The figure gave him no threatening moves as he whipped the blade out of the sheath. 'Okay, how about leading me to my Guymelef now!?' The king demanded. _

'_Do you think that the Zaibach soldiers would give in to such threats? You cannot escape from this floating fortress, my brother.' the figure whispered._

Whoa, wait. _Brother?_

"His brother!?" The Nurse hissed. He heard frantic pages turning back to the first chapter. "I thought he said his brother died or something… That was in her first vision while she was still on Earth. How in the world could he be alive?"

Keep reading and maybe we'll find out! Van wanted to yell at her. As if hearing him, she flipped back to her current page and continued.

_The king growled, 'If the only way to live is as one of your pawns then I-' he placed the blade on his neck and the sword was knocked out of his hands by an invisible force. It was only after it happened; the king realized the man had drawn his sword with lightning speed. _

'_Never throw your life away so easily.' The black cloak fell from the figure's shoulders and puddled on the ground. _

_As a shadow of wings stretched forth from the figure's back, the king knew. _

_There was no questioning._

'_B-Brother…'"_

The sound of her startled voice hit too close to home.

Brother…

He had more in common with this king that he'd thought…

His mind still reeling from the book's plot twist about his favorite character, he hardly heard the next part. Somehow, the girl did what a deus ex machina does best and found the king's location with her magic or whatever and fainted because of it. The Nurse squealed slightly as Knight caught the girl in her chair.

"Oh, no, Allen actually called and I _missed _it…" she whispered obviously looking down at her phone from her book. Van could actually taste the dilemma in her as she torn between speaking to her new boy toy and reading her book.

He wished he could smile as she started up Dilly-Doo's higher pitched, yet slightly raspy voice.

Book: 1

Allen: 0

* * *

A heroic rescue from Knight. Dilly-Doo gets sliced in the face (Van knew it was pronounced Dilandau or something, but Dilly-Doo made him happier). The girl jumped a huge gap and really didn't do much else – which Van thought was stupid. Why didn't the cat girl try to jump? She's half-cat, right? She'd have made it just fine!

But whatever, the king was saved and they were headed to some place called Palas when the book's chapter ended.

Also, Van didn't really care for this Allen dude.

He called again during the book's most exciting part and the Nurse took the vibrating phone and turned it off. Just as the chapter finished, she immediately picked up the phone and called him back. She apologized – which Van thought was unnecessary considering she was kind of at work – and they set up a time when he could call her and she would be able to chat.

Then Allen said something to her to make her giggle.

God, would she just get out already? The chapter was over! King was safe. Yay for all! Van wanted sleep!

Before she left she whispered, "I hope you wake up soon, Mr. Fanel."

Van dreamed about riding a flying dragon that night.

* * *

**That's it for this one. Tomorrow is another chapter - much longer! I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Questions, comments, thoughts, hated it, loved it, wish I would write Rutilus already and stop posting new stories?**

**I won't know unless you tell me!**

**Love to all!**

**blue...**


	2. Chapter 2: Millerna and the Princess

**And now we continue. **

**"Let's keep going, shall we?" ;)**

* * *

It was weird actually being in the break room, but Yukari insisted she had to talk to her. So, here she was sitting on the hard chairs and eating undercooked fries with her best friend.

"So, are you going on a date or what? It's been like a week since you met him." Lifting a fry to her mouth, Yukari realized she forgot ketchup and smashed the little potato in the red goop. "What's the dealeo? You gotta keep me in the loop."

"We are working on meeting up a weekend soon," Hitomi answered cryptically pushing her fries aside in distaste. "He's a nice guy and I like talking to him, but I actually like working here at night. I was thinking I'd ask Millerna to switch me to the night shift full time."

"Are you crazy!?" Her auburn-headed friend squealed turning several heads from nearby tables. "You have got to be joking! The one time, Hitomi, _one time_ I get you to come out to the club with me and you land yourself a hot tottie! And now you _don't_ want to see him during the evenings. _Do you know what people do most evenings?_"

"Yukari, you are dropping your fries on the floor." Hitomi chimed timidly. "And, of course, I do. I just…"

"Just what? Have never had sex before?"

"I just don't know if I want a relationship right now."

"You talk about being lonely all the time and now a man comes up basically thrusting his pelvis at you and you balk like a little chicken."

"I do not balk like a chicken!" Hitomi snapped sharply, slightly hurt by the insult. "But I know. I should give Allen a chance."

"Definitely, you crazy person! Don't let him slip from your fingers!"

* * *

He was given a second chance from the boss man himself.

"Your chance to make it to the big leagues", so say the sit and spin.

Another chance to redeem his failure. He'd have to wait for a time to strike.

They knew what kind of price they were asking him to pay. He'd have to do it though.

One of the twins smiled at him as he passed through the doorway. The other gave a tiny wink.

Sex, money, power…

They were within his grasp.

* * *

Van was waiting.

She was right on time.

And she came in muttering weird, nonsensical words that didn't make sense until she leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. With her face closer to his ear, he heard the words, "…it's not that complicated. I don't have to give him sex on the first date or second or even ninth! That's not who I am. He is so nice and handsome and I know he's better than me, but I can't figure out my feelings about him. I'd like to compare him to the Knight, but the Knight is not real. There is no king, there is no Knight, and there is no Mystic Moon girl. I've either been reading too much lately or I have some serious mental issues about relationships."

He heard the distress in her voice. It was the same distress she used when the king had confronted his brother. It was the same tone of voice when the girl called out to warn people of attacks.

It was a painful inflection on her words.

Yeah, this was a bit more than a comatose man expected - but whatever, his day had been boring anyway. So, she was having problems with the new guy? Or just mixed feelings about him? According to that Yukari girl, he was some kind of male-model dreamboat. Van wondered what was causing his Nurse to have mixed feelings about someone like that.

"I'm going to stop thinking about it. I'm leaving this for tomorrow. I want to read on my break. I hope you don't mind, Mr. Fanel."

Yeah, sure, just get to it.

"_The levee ship floated peacefully on the waves on clouds, signaling a temporary peace from the amounts of hysteria that had wrecked their lives as of late. _

'_Altitude 4,000,' A pilot announced. _

'_Okay, crossed the Sithall Mountains…'_

_The girl stood at the window, gazing down at the passing clouds at her feet. With the king rescued and the crew headed to safety, she couldn't help but let her thoughts get turned to-" _

Nononono, not about the Knight. Please don't let this chapter be all about the Knight and her mixed up feelings! He'd had enough with feelings for a while.

He patiently waited through it and realized it wasn't as bad as he thought. Only one 'Did I make the derp hate me because I gave him the stupid reading about his father and all that crap?' later and he was onto the king!

"_There was only one place left to find her lord when he wanted to hide from everyone. And there Merle found him sitting on his Guymelef. Cradling his sword against his chest, he looked deep in thought. Something must have happened at the floating fortress for him to look this glum. He turned the sword to look at the Fanelian symbol on the hilt. _

'_Why, Brother? How could you do that?' _

'_Oh, my poor lord,' she whispered._

_As the levee ship cleared the mountainside, the port capital named Palas was seen glowing in the morning sunrise. It's beautiful, yet simply structured houses were a complete opposite to the cottages that had stretched Fanelia's jagged landscape. A statue of a Leviathan was perched on every post: the symbol of House Aston. The seagulls were cawing, the sea was roaring, and the city was bustling with shop keeps and potential customers. _

_They landed on a carved flatland made for ships. Disembarking, the king, cat-girl, and psychic stood staring at the sea._

'_Oh wow, just smell that sea air. Now it's that air that tells me I'm home. I'm gonna live it up tonight!' one of the crew shouted from the bow of their levee ship. _

'_Oh, my lord,' the cat-girl cooed as her hands latched around his left arm, 'isn't the sea beautiful? Just look at it!'_

'_Yes,' he answered with less enthusiasm. 'It's the first time I've seen it.'_

'_I guess it smells the same no matter where you go,' the girl said softly, a brief flicker of home resonating within her. _

'_KNIGHT!' The word was shrilled across the dockyard. It was followed by the sound of clumping horse hoofs. A blond, beautiful woman was beaming in the sunlight, her face as radiant as a star. Knight came to greet her as she dismounted. 'It's certainly a surprise to have you arrive unannounced, Knight.' Holding her hand out, Knight paused for only a brief moment before bending to kiss her hand gently. 'Princess… truly the surprise is all mine.' Still on one knee before her, he asked, 'Why are you dressed like that?' _

'_I can't ride a horse in a dress, now can I?' _

And now a princess.

Really.

A princess.

No evil spirits?

No destruction of an entire city?

No giant robot battles?

Van had been hoping for so much better than this. Now there's obviously going to be the most annoyingly strangled love triangle in the existence of romance novels and he was stuck listening to all of it. If anything this princess and derp Knight seemed to deserve each other. The psychic girl, on the other hand, though she was _annoying_ and only used as a plot mover, had some power. She had that seeing invisible things power and stuff. The king could use that to take back his kingdom. The king needed to get on her good side to make sure he had that power for himself.

Listening back in, Van realized he missed a lot. The king was speaking again.

"_She's not a handmaiden. She's with me,' the king corrected gently. _

_Merle fumed loudly at his statement. 'No! She's with Knight!'_

'_She's with Knight?' the princess asked confused._

_The girl blushed and stammered, 'No! I'm not! I mean-'_

'_Oh, dear! I saw you wearing those strange clothes and I just assumed that well… you know…'_

_Merle leaned in close to whisper loudly, 'that's an insult to handmaidens.'_

'_Bad kitty!' the girl snarled back and Merle backed away with a smirk._

'_Here in Austuria, we get people from all sorts of countries, but I've never seen someone like you before.'_

'_Yes, I suppose you haven't. You probably don't get many people from the mystic-meeeerrr…' she was cut off by the spiking pain of Merle crushing her foot. Gasping she realized she'd almost made a huge mistake and covered her mouth. The cat girl scowled at her. 'Moron', she muttered._

_The princess was surprised, but her face quickly transformed into a furtive smile._

_At the castle, the Knight requested a private audience with the King of Austuria. There was much to tell him:_

'_The Zaibach Empire broke our treaty and attacked our fortress. We may be allied countries, but there is no telling when they'll attack Austuria herself. Your decision please, King Aston.' Knight knelt on the lavender carpet, his head bowed low._

_The silence that followed was long and tense. 'Knight, are you deliberately trying to bring disaster upon my country?'"_

Oh, damn! Knight's gonna get it!

"_Knight gasped and looked up. _

'_Are you trying to tell me that for one little outpost you are willing to risk Zaibach's wrath? What have you done?'"_

Van wished he could laugh. Van wished he could jump up and down and he could point in the Nurse's face with a big, fat round of derp Knight jokes! Knight was getting the verbal spanking he deserved! And from his king, no less! Oh, this was a good chapter! A very, very good chapter!

'_Chivalry demands that we protect the King of Fanelia whose country was destroyed by Zaibach.'_

'_That's not true…' An ominous voice resonated in the area. A cloaked figure shifted from the left, his silver hair and pale face sticking out amongst the shadows. 'You seem to be the victim of misunderstanding, Knight.'_

'_And who is this?' Knight asked quickly."_

King's brother?

"'_Knight, may I introduce to you, Stratego of Zaibach,' the Aston King smirked. _

'_Of Zaibach?' Knight gasped._

_The dark red eyes of the Stratego latched onto Knight's inflicting a wave of confident menace over the blond man. Zaibach already has the king in their pocket, Knight thought fearfully. _

'_King Aston,' Stratego said coolly, 'Are you aware that the King of Fanelia launched a sneak attack against us?'_

'_Just wait a minute; I've heard nothing of this attack!' Knight shouted._

'_Yet it's the truth... but if you were to hand over Fanelia's king and the Guymelef Escaflowne, I'm sure we can see fit to overlook this little 'incident'. What do you say, Knight? I'd like to avoid any incidents that might endanger our alliance. We have an agreement, then?'_

_The king nodded briskly._

'_That is excellent,' Stratego smiled. He turned away to slink back into the shadows._

'_Knight, if you truly love this country, you'll turn him over to us at once. Chivalry alone cannot protect a country, Knight…'_

_Meanwhile, the object of their fierce discussion sat comfortably in the back dining hall waiting. Sitting at his left, princess folded her arms contently and kept her secret smile._

'_Well… what do we have here?' She said as a girl in a long pink dress appeared around the corner. _

_The king's head lifted quickly as his eyes checked the physic girl in a different light. Unknown to him, his mouth had dropped open slightly. _

'_That dress looks great!' Princess praised loudly. _

'_You look good enough to be a handmaiden,' Merle teased._

_The girl scowled at the cat. 'Are you trying to pick a fight?'_

'_Fighting isn't very lady-like…' the cat continued, but was quickly silenced by King's hand plopping on her pink head. His mouth still hung awkwardly._

'_This is such a pretty dress. Are you sure you don't mind?'_

'_If someone were to see you walking around in those strange clothes, Knight's dignity might be called into question,'"_

If Van could, he would have scowled. Okay, how was this fair? Knight gets to go talk to King Aston and the Stratego and discuss diplomacy while the king sits here with the women and questions fashion? Could he _be _any more emasculated? The guy is a friggin' king of a country! He should be in that chamber chopping his stupid brother and that stupid Aston turd in half! Instead, he only has idiot Knight to defend him. An idiot who wouldn't even protect the fortress he was assigned to. Though that would have provoked an attack from Zaibach without the consent of his king… so maybe the idiot had a good call on that one.

But still, he should have let the King of Fanelia go back then. That was a stupid call.

Good, so Van still hated Knight.

"'… _is everybody ready to go?' princess asked happily." _Oops, he missed some stuff…

"'_Hey,' the king called out and tossed a bag to the girl. She caught it clumsily with a grunt. _

'_Why did you do that?'_

'_Keep it with you because there's no telling what might happen.'"_

The black-haired man listened lazily to the Nurse as she changed her voice to Knight's crew, describing the way they toss a tarp over something – probably the Escaflowne – and got called to eat. Austurian Royal Guard suddenly surrounded the crew. No big surprise there. The Aston King was a retard, but that's the reddest flag of all the red flags in the universe. Let's all check under the large tarp! I'm sure there's nothing suspicious under there!? Yep, there's the Escaflowne.

So now Aston has the robot. Great.

The Nurse moved on from there to the king … who was shopping with the women- _WHAT?_ Not only was he in the middle of fashion week, but now the poor dude was taken shopping!? Did this author even _like _the king? This was the guy who wanted to stop Zaibach all by himself! This was the guy who jumped into his Guymelef thingy and made it turn into a damn dragon in order for the ship to escape! This is the guy who tried to cut his own head off to avoid being taken prisoner! What the hell kind of shi-

"_The king's back immediately stiffened as he recognized the uniformed men. 'Zaibach soldiers…' he breathed. His dark eyes watched a familiar cloaked figure cross the bridge – and he knew._

'_Brother…' he hissed. _

'_What's the matter, king?' princess asked noticing his tense posture._

_He didn't even bother to answer her. The king sprang into a run, pushing aside various people in the bustling streets, his mind reeling with pursuit. He had to talk to his brother. He had to find answers to his questions._

'_King!' princess yelled in confusion._

_But he was out of sight within an instant.-" _

Her phone buzzed with a call. Oh, god, seriously? This Allen dude was calling right _now? _Just when the king ditched the women to do something manly!? Geez…

The Nurse sighed and he heard the book fold gently on her lap.

"Hey, Allen… how are you?"

Ah, damn it!

Book: 1

Allen: 1

* * *

"Talk to you later, bye."

The phone call lasted for about twenty minutes. The entire time Nurse didn't sound that interested in the conversation. He could tell from her tone she was using a fake voice of excitement in response to some story he was telling her. It was funny. If she hadn't read in those silly voices for the characters, he would've never noticed it. Van felt a strange little triumph knowing something about Nurse Allen probably will never figure out in his lifetime.

Remembering her little speech when she first entered, Van also knew her true feelings about Allen.

Nurse deserved better. This Allen was probably a really big prick.

The phone call ended and he heard the Nurse actually give a sigh of relief. She obviously didn't want to talk to the dude. But whatever, she was opening the book.

Oh man, blah, blah, blah, the girl finds a cd from the merchant, misses her home world and her mother and her almost boyfriend. Other people might have come to this world from Earth or Mystic Moon or whatever it's called.

Get back to the king!

"_The girl's comforting memories of her lost friends was suddenly shot into darkness with a horrible vision of the king's body writhing in agony as a bright hot light stabbed through his body." _

OH, SHIT!

"Oh, crap!" the Nurse exclaimed.

"'_Oh, no!' she gasped, the lightning bright in her mind's eye. _

_Watching the girl grow rigid, princess put her hand on her shoulder. 'Hey, what's the matter? You seem a little distant.'_

'_Where's king? Where did he go?' the girl shouted, looking around desperately at the people passing. _

'_He went towards the harbor. He seemed to be a little upset about something.'_

_The girl took off in the direction of king. The cat girl perked up._

'_What's wrong? Hey! Wait up!' Merle followed closely behind her._

'_Those are two very strange girls…' princess muttered._

_The dark cloak rustled in the sea salt wind. The king could practically sense the shadow of his older brother right before his eyes as he raced with all his might to catch up. Down a long walkway, through a street, and into a dark alleyway, his panting breaths echoed and his ears pumped with his thumping heart. Passing out of the alley way, the king spied his brother crossing a long bridge with swooping seagulls cawing in the open sky. About to sprint over the bridge, he glanced up and spied the floating fortress over a mountain side. _

'_A Zaibach floating fortress...' he murmured. Just seeing the fortress reminded him of who his brother had become. He had to know why. King had to know what happened to his brother to make him this way._

_As the Stratego finished crossing, a black carriage pulled up in front of him. 'I'm here to take you back, Stratego,' the carriage driver announced._

_The word escaped king's lips. 'Brother!' he cried out, racing to the middle of the bridge. The cloaked man paused briefly before turning to king. _

'_Brother…' Stratego breathed. 'Are you prepared to come back with me?'_

_Inside the fortress, waiting in his dark throne, Dilandau sat-" _Van wanted to growl. Come on! Now we are talking about Dilly-Doo? This author was torture-

"'_-cheek, cheek, cheek, cheek, cheek, cheek…' Dilandau pressed hard against the bandage with his finger and tell-tale blood seeped out." _

Nurse clicked her tongue. "Well, this guy's a lunatic. King cut his face. King's probably in trouble."

Yeah, true. So read it!

"'_Lord Dilandau, maybe it would be better if you didn't touch the wound like that.'_

'_WHAT?' Dilandau roared, socking the poor soldier in the jaw. 'So, you understand the pain I'm feeling, do you?'_

'_Forgive me!'_

_Throwing the boy down, he screamed, 'My face! He cut my beautiful face!'_

'_Lord Dilandau…'_

'_WHAT NOW!?'_

Van actually wanted to laugh. The way Nurse read Dilly-Doo was kinda funny. Obviously Dilly-Doo was a nut-job, but Nurse made him sound like a little child.

What? That's it for the scene?

Back to Stratego and king! Nice!

'_Why?' king pleaded. 'Why are you working for Zaibach, brother?'_

'_The King of Fanelia in me is dead. On that day, the day that the dragon ripped off this arm, I died. And it was the Emperor who gave me life again. He taught me how to live.'"_

"Well, that doesn't make sense… he taught him how to live?" Nurse said through a frown. "Where's Knight? He should be saving king."

Yeah, well your infatuation with idiot doesn't make too much sense either. Get back to reading!

"_The girl raced through the streets with the cat girl following._

'_Hey, what's wrong?' Merle called out, finally catching up to the girl. She stopped to take a breather._

'_I had another bad vision,' her green eyes racing around the streets for more clues. _

'_Cut it out! Why are you always trying to scare me?'_

'_Excuse me!' the girl called out to a passerby, ignoring the cat completely. 'Which way is the harbor?'_

'_It's back over that way.' _

'_Thank you!' the girl said and took off once more. Once again, the cat girl followed with a low growl in her throat."_

Okay, what deus ex machina will the girl pull out of her butt this time?

"_Dilandau marched in his scarlet Guymelef."_

Oh, we are back to Dilly-Doo.

"'_Lord Dilandau, Stratego ordered us not to leave the anchorage. Please stop! Stratego will be most angry!'_

'_Who said anything about leaving the venue?' Dilandau murmured darkly, a wretched smile appearing on his bandaged face. He stopped his scarlet mecha on the launch pad and initiated the doors to open. Wind caught the stealth cloak cape draped on his Guymelef's shoulders. Lifting his right arm, he pointed his missile straight for the bridge and zeroed in on the king standing there. _

'_Bastard…' he whispered, a spike of metal protruding from the gun. _

_The king, who was oblivious to his danger, stared at the Stratego with pain-filled eyes._

_The older man just sighed, 'You are my brother… we share the same blood…I can see into your heart…This world difficult for a gentle soul such as yours to bear. This world where man fights against man. No, where every living thing fights to take the life of another. We kill beasts. We kill dragons. We even kill men. Fighting begets fighting. And slaughter begins anew. Such is the way of the world.'_

'_Yes, but it was the Zaibach that started all the fighting, brother!'_

'_So then I suppose we fight to end that conflict. To bring forth a new order. This is a true holy war.'_

'_You mean, fighting to bring an end to fighting? I think you'll find that there's no such thing!'_

'_Brother… come with me now. Come with me so that we can create a new world.' Stratego opened his arms, his mecha hand reaching out to king. The sea gulls swooped and a white feather drifted to king's face. His only brother who he thought was dead. He could go with him. He could end this struggle and fight beside him._

'_Brother…' king breathed."_

"He's seriously tempted?" Nurse whispered. "How could he be?"

Van was quiet, listening.

Brother…

"_The girl raced down the long hallway that connected into the street. Her usually fast stride was inhibited by the long beautiful dress that princess had given her. 'I've got a bad feeling about this…' she thought panicked. 'I've gotta hurry!'_

_At the hanger, Dilandau's Guymelef powered up its core. _

'_Lord Dilandau!' the soldier called in surprise. 'Lord Dilandau is setting his energist to maximum to shoot out a cremma claw?' _

'_Bye, bye…' the boy grinned, his heart flowing with happiness. Releasing the hatch on his missile, the claw sprang forth like a strike of lightning from the fortress – headed directly for the middle of the bridge."_

Oh, SHIT.

"OH, CRAP!" Nurse squeaked.

"_The girl's heart was in a flurry. Reaching down, she wrenched the seams apart on her dress to free her knees. She had to run faster! _

'_Huh?' the cat girl frowned in confusion._

'_Here! Hold this!'_

_A flying bag slammed into Merle's arms._

_The spike continued to fly increasingly closer with each passing heartbeat._

'_That's it! Reach it, my claw! Tear king to pieces!'_

_She was running. Her body relaxing into the athletic training she had done every day. _

_She pushed her body. _

_Faster. _

_Stretched her legs._

_Longer._

_She had to make it._

_The claw snapped through the air, tossing aside a flying bird like a simple bug. _

"_NOOOO!' the girl shrieked, her footsteps echoing down the dark alleyway. She cleared the alleyway just in time for king to glance up at his impending doom-"_

Her phone buzzed.

"GAH! Not now!" Nurse growled and Van heard an audible clatter.

She'd thrown her phone to the floor.

Book: 2

Allen: 1

"'_WATCH OUT!' _

_Her body collided into his back, knocking him violently forward and onto the ground just as the wood splintered right where he'd been standing not a breath before."_

Oh, thank god…

"Oh, thank goodness…"

_Dilandau screamed, his target lost. His Guymelef's energist glowing hot and bright. _

'_Lord Dilandau!' his soldier cried. _

_The scarlet mecha began melting from the heat. The cremma clawed arm falling to the ground in shattered pieces. The other arm melted away and the legs collapsed into themselves. The Guymelef was wrecked._

_Dilandau jumped out with a grunt._

'_Lord Dilandau!' the soldier came up to him. 'Are you alright?'_

_His eyes burned. His focus being redirected._

'_That girl…' he snarled."_

"Well that's not good…she's going to be in trouble."

At least the psycho isn't concentrating on king anymore, Van thought with relief. Though what Van really wanted was for Dilly-Doo to go after Knight.

That would be the best turnout.

"_King felt her breath against his neck. His eyes wide with shock. She was there. She had hit him and there had been a loud, deafening crash. He felt a hand on his shoulder and his body slowly being turned. Then her face appeared. She was painting and sweating, but her green eyes glowed brightly with her receding panic._

'_I'm here…'_

'_It's you…' he murmured in his shock._

_Sitting up, he looked at the smoking hole only inches from his feet. _

_He would have been obliterated if she hadn't-_

'_You came to save me…'_

'_I… can't believe I made it…' she panted, her face transforming into a smile._

_Stratego stared at the fortress, his anger growing. 'Dilandau,' he thought darkly. 'How dare you interfere?'_

'_I see,' the king declared standing and confronting his brother. 'So, this is how Zaibach operates, huh?'_

'_This was not my intent.'_

_The king's dark red eyes glistened with anger and he growled, 'is that all you have to say!?'_

_The girl blinked, turning to look at the dark cloaked man. 'That's king's big brother…the guy from the fortress…' she thought with realization."_

Watch out, Nurse, we have a smart-pants in our midst.

"'_My Looooooord!' a familiar squeal erupted behind them. Turning, king was just in time to catch the cat girl as she leapt into his arms. 'Thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried about you! She keeps saying the weirdest things.' Merle motioned to the girl, who sat up and scowled._

_Suddenly, soldiers came flying from the alleyway, their hands on their swords. _

'_Greetings, King of Fanelia, King Aston wishes to see you.'_

_Merle piped up. 'Oh, he does, huh? Talk about rude!'_

_The black-haired young man turned his head at the sound of squeaking wheels. The black carriage had begun to move. He caught one last glimpse of him. _

_Brother…_

'_So, if you'd please come with us then…'-"_

The phone began buzzing on the floor. Van inwardly growled. Didn't she tell him a good timeto call? Why does he decide to bother her _right now_? And really, didn't they just talk? What the hell more does he have to say?

The Nurse gave a sharp breath and closed the book. "I gotta go back anyways," she whispered to herself. Her footsteps crossed over to the other side of the room where she picked up her phone.

"Hello?" she said, in her fake cheerful tone - she sounded like Merle. He heard her begin walking to the door. "Oh, wait one second, Allen." Van was surprised to hear her turn from the door to walk to the edge of his bed. "Thank you, Mr. Fanel. I was looking forward to reading today. Actually, I look forward to it every time I have a night shift now. You probably can't hear me, but I hope that - if you can – you are enjoying this story as much as me. I promise I won't continue to read it without you. I hope you wake up soon."

Her voice was genuine.

And she was gone.

And Van was alone.

* * *

She left the room, her hair so blond it could be described silver, with her clothes hanging and her mouth slanted in a tease. He relaxed in his chair, satisfied. So very satisfied.

She'd come to him. And he came for her.

Sex, money, power.

His eyes glazed over the drawer which held the gun and he felt his relaxation slipping to unease.

He had to. Not with a gun, but with something worse. Something ultimately fatal.

Why did it have to be him?

Why did it have to be someone he cared about?

Brother…

Why couldn't he have just died the first time?

Why did it have to be him?

But a sacrifice was a sacrifice, right?

All for the common good.

* * *

Hitomi brushed her bangs out of her green eyes and checked her watch again. Glancing up at a giggling couple walking through the door, her breath made a lazy smoke out of her nose and mouth. It was freezing cold. She was standing where Allen had asked to meet her: outside a restaurant named _Burrito Mochico._

He was ten minutes late. She'd called him, but he didn't answer his phone.

Something was wrong.

Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her body to try and conserve body heat. She's been standing here for over thirty minutes. Too nervous to wait any longer, she'd rushed to the restaurant very early – now only to stand out and wait for her date to actually show his face. Her brown satchel slipped slightly on her shoulder and she straightened it. The book was in there, weighing it down with temptation.

"I let go of one of my shifts to go out with this guy and he leaves me waiting. Typical." She murmured darkly, but then her natural optimism fought back. Feeling a little guilty at being angry, she shook her head.

"Maybe he's caught up on the subway or something. I'll wait for a bit longer."

* * *

The next morning, Van immediately knew something was up. Nurse, who he now could recognize from her walking, was sniffing in her nose and breathing heavily. She checked over his pulse and heart rate before moving on to fill a bin full of hot water. A loud crash and he heard her let out a sad sob.

"What happened?" The familiar voice of her friend came through his doorway. There was a pause as the two girls obviously had a non-verbal exchange. "Oh, my dear sweet… what happened?" Her friend crossed over and hugged her.

"He… he stood me _up_…" the Nurse sobbed. "He said to meet at this burrito place and he never showed up. He won't even return my calls!"

"I am so sorry, honey. He's the worst in the world for doing that."

"Yes, he is!" She sniffed. "I gave up a shift for him!"

"…well, that's a sign of true affection coming from you." Yukari teased gently. "You work too much."

There was another pause in which the two girls continued to hug. Finally, Yukari let her go and said, "You go to the bathroom and wash your face. I'll clean up this mess and bathe the patient."

"But you have your other patients to attend to…"

"Then I'll trade you Mrs. Morris for Mr. Fanel just for this hour. She likes to complain about her hot flashes, so I think it's fair."

The Nurse let out a small, shaky laugh. "You're the best."

"I know."

* * *

As she entered the quiet room, she took out her phone from her pocket and placed it gently on Mr. Fanel's bed. If Allen decided to call at all today... she wasn't sure what she'd do. For some reason, he always called her during her break time in the night shift.

You know what, she thought to herself determinedly. I am not going to worry about him. I'm not going to worry about anything.

"Let's see, let's see, where were we, Mr. Fanel?" Glancing up at the still man lying on the white sheeted bed, she watched his thin chest rise and fall several times. His heart was a steady metronome beep.

"_The king stood confidently, his hands steady on the controls of his Guymelef. The beautiful mecha gleamed in the evening sunset. The arena king stood in was empty in the stands except for Aston king and his advisors, his daughter princess, the Knight, the girl, and Merle. Three other Austurian Guymelefs of various models surrounded him, each having their own specialized weapon. His dark red eyes twitched left and right, watching his opponents' every move. Who would attack first?_

_They charged one by one and he met them. The fight over within a minute as he easily disabled each by dodging or countering their attack, gaining access through their defense, and smashing their energist jewels before they had time to react. The wrecked Guymelefs fell over one by one at his feet. _

_The princess clapped happily, 'He's magnificent!'_

'_He won! He won! Whooo!' Merle's shrill voice screamed out._

_The control chamber hissed open and king stepped forward._

_Aston sat back, actually feeling impressed, 'Hmmm, you only destroyed their energists…'_

_The girl's heart slowed as she realized king would be alright. Turning angrily to Aston, she yelled, 'Your Majesty, that wasn't a test! It was some king of-' her heated speech was halted as her vision was suddenly blocked by long blond hair. '…of dirty trick…' she trailed off._

'_I believe a three on one fight is slightly out of the bounds of chivalry, Your Majesty.'_

'_Oh, nonsense. I was merely showing my respect for Ispano Guymelefs.'_

'_How can you-'_

'_That's alright,' king's voice spoke up smoothly from the Guymelef. 'Uneven fights happen on the real battlefield.'_

'_Powerful words as one would expect from a nation such as Fanelia,' the Aston king said with almost a sarcastic flair. _

_Aston's financial advisory spoke in. 'It's no wonder Zaibach wants that Guymelef. It would fetch a pretty penny.'_

'_So, that's your appraisal is it, Meiden…?' _

_The Aston king's eyes had a soft shine of lust as he turned them back on the mighty Escaflowne."_

Her warmth for the Knight's dialogue was a bit frosted tonight, but Van was just content to hear the story once more. Badass fight for king, not very descriptive, but pretty nice Guymelef wreckage, political intrigue. So far, the book had gotten good again.

"_A dinner was held with the white Guymelef sitting at the forefront of the long table. Raising a glass of wine to the mecha, Aston declared, 'Escaflowne is certainly a magnificent Guymelef.'_

'_Its beauty is enough to steal your heart away.' Meiden chimed in silkily. 'Of course, it can't compare to your two daughters.'_

'_Why, thank you, Lord Meiden,' Princess said graciously like a trained courtier as the older adviser laughed. _

'_I beg your pardon, King Aston', his steward inquired, 'but is it safe to assume that such rare beauty won't go unnoticed by Zaibach?'_

_Taking a sip of his wine, the king replied, 'What would you have us do?'_

'_What if we disguised the Escaflowne as one of our country's Guymelefs?'_

'_I see. So, we hide a tree in a forest.'_

'_The arrangements have already been made, sire.'_

'_What do you say, King of Fanelia?' _

_King sat with his eyes closed and his wine glass full and forgotten on the table. He'd lived through enough of these political prodding to know when he was getting taken advantage of. It was already fully out that Zaibach and Austuria wished to remain allies despite the accusation of Zaibach destroying Fanelia. He wondered why Aston wished to continue this charade called 'Gracious Host'. Aston held his life in his hands. He was bound to do what he wanted while he remained where he was. Visibly sniveling over the rarity of an Ispano, the king felt their greed and was disgusted. He needed to get out of there. _

_In more ways than one._

'_It's up to you,' he responded tonelessly. The words obviously held more meaning as he stood without approval and walked to the large glass window. The girl watched with confused eyes as the king stood with his arms crossed. Merle joined him within a few seconds. _

'_Hmmm, it's said that being too beautiful is a sin, Knight,' Aston remarked._

_Knight blinked in surprise before catching the eyes of princess' older sister. Meiden, on the other hand, had eyes for another female at the table._

'_Why hello, I haven't been able to speak to you yet.' he said pleasantly. _

'_Yes?' the girl spoke up. _

'_I've heard that you're one of Knight's companions, but where are you from?'_

'_Me?' she grew startled at the unexpected question. 'Well, I… umm… ahh…'_

'_I know where she's from.' Princess piped in charmingly. Her eyes spoke the words 'mystic moon', but her mouth said, 'She's from a strange land that seems to have some rather 'unusual' customs.' The smirk the princess gave her made her realize she was slightly making fun of her. In defense, the girl snatched up her drink and drained the glass. 'Whoa, this stuff's good,' she thought, swallowing the last of the pink liquid. A servant refilled her glass._

'_Swallowing it in one gulp is rather unusual,' Meiden joked. 'I'd like to hear more about this, princess.'_

_Knight spoke up to save the girl, 'Princess, I'm not sure this topic is appropriate.'_

Van was bored. More scenes with the love triangle. Princess verbally pokes with the girl, who gets defended by the Knight, who then turns around and flirts with the princess. God, it was so stupid! It was the story _behind_ the love triangle that Van wanted. The Fanelian king's struggle against an entire country ran by his estranged brother who was supposed to be dead! Now that was a plot worth listening to.

And possibly take notes from…

"'_Knight, did you know my younger sister has been betrothed to Lord Meiden's eldest son?'"_

The Nurse let out a gasp and a small laugh afterward. "Serves her right, the bimbo."

This is so _BORING_, Van wanted to shout at her.

"'_No! Is that TRUE?' the girl exclaimed happily. _

'_Enough, sister!' the princess shouted._

'_I'm sorry. Wasn't that what you were going to talk to him about?'_

'_That's such wonderful news,' Knight responded with a quiet charm. 'Congratulations, princess.'_

'_Father arranged it without asking me. I haven't consented yet.'_

'_It's what's best for you, daughter.' Aston said sharply._

'_But father, I haven't seen him in years.'_

'_He's always away,' Meiden chimed in. 'So even we don't get to see him very often. Perhaps he'll grace us with his presence on your wedding day.' Both men chuckled while the princess stared at the table pushing back her tears. Meanwhile the physic girl smiled happily and drank her glass empty once more. 'Knight's available…' she hiccuped to herself. _

Van was frustrated.

Okay, okay, if we are going to be doing this, then I want a complaint! Van thought sharply to the Nurse as she giggled to herself. First, why is this little girl going after a man twice her age? Second, why _isn't_ she going after one who sounds like he's her age, is a king of a country – granted it has been destroyed – and owns one of the most valuable pieces of war machinery on whatever this planet is? He's just as much a warrior as this Knight and it seems he actually enjoys shopping! The guy is a prize to women! This doesn't make any sense at all!

This girl is an absolute moron!

There was a small vibrating feeling on Van's bed. The Nurse stopped laugh immediately and her book dropped into her lap.

"Allen…" she whispered quietly. "You finally contact me back and all you say is 'I'm sorry' over text? How am I supposed to answer that?"

You don't, Van injected silently. He's a tool.

Straightening in her chair, the Nurse dropped the phone back on Van's bed without response.

Ha!

Book: 3

Allen: 1

This time the scene was focused back on the Zaibach floating fortress and the king's brother. Van casually listened to the words the Nurse was saying, but he couldn't help hearing the distracted hitch in the Nurse's tone. Her throat was tighter than it should have been on Dilandau's dialogue. She even stopped a few times as if looking at her phone. The most Van got out of the scene was that Dilly-Doo was even crazier now and was thinking of attacking Austuria and some place called Freid was going to get it from Zaibach soon and there was some destiny promagoo that predicted a dragon shadow or whatever and the Emperor of Zaibach was kind of a douche. Apparently that meant not messing with Austuria because they needed their ports, so Dilly-Doo decided that meant instead to occupy Austuria and hunt down the king.

Hey! I thought he was done with the king and had moved on to hunt the girl! What gives? Van scowled mentally.

The scene changed again and they were back at the castle. Oh man, Nurse said the word 'Knight' and Van tuned out this entire exchange. Something about a lady named Marlene. Knight is a man-hoe, but he'll never love again, but he's still a derp.

Nothing else new.

Then he heard the name 'king'.

"_Up on the rooftop, the king balanced with perfect precision on the railings of the high balcony. His sword sheened in the moonlight, producing an iridescent glow. Motioning through step after step of his training from Balgus, the king fought off his invisible attackers with methodical movements. The movements were called the Dance of Curse. As he changed his direction on the balcony, he positioned his sword for a charge. He froze in this position. _

_He wasn't never aggressive enough._

_Hearing tapping, he opened his eyes to see the Knight walking forward to meet him. They both locked eyes for only a few seconds. And both read each other's thoughts._

_Pressured from politics or pressured from women, these two men were feeling the same._

'_I'll be your sparring partner,' Knight said with a fire igniting behind his eyes._

'_Hmp,' the king replied with a smile._

_The swords clanged together for almost an hour. Both lost in the hot fires of combat, they met blade for blade; dodging, countering, faster and faster. His skills have improved in a very short space of time, Knight thought as king twisted around and lifted his blade for a charge. _

'_YEEEEEEAAAAA!' the king cried out as he came forward. Blocked. Flick of the wrist, a twitch of the bicep; both men looked like they were locking in perfect sequence. He's taking too many risks if he keeps doing this, Knight realized. The blond man twisted around and the king's back was to the large pillar. They met blade for blade one more time, but the angle and pressure was too much for the king. _

_As the Fanelian blade skated away on the tiles and Knight placed his blade on the king's neck, he finished his thought: he's going to get himself killed._

_The king glanced at his gloved hand as Knight let him go. He was close. So very close. Was it his charge? His speed? He'd have to keep practicing._

_A sound of clapping was heard from the doorway and both men turned to look. It was Princess."_

Oh, damn…

"Oh, dear…"

"'_Bravo, Knight. Just beautiful swordsmanship.'_

'_Princess, this is no hour for a lady to be out on a stroll.'_

'_And this is no hour to be practicing with swords either.'_

_The king moved to pick up his sword and walked out while sheathing it. The prospect of another spar was spoiled by the princess. Besides, he didn't want to be up there anymore anyway. The princess was Knight's problem._

_As the king went out of sight, the princess ran to the Knight and touched his face._

'_Knight…'_

'_Princess, please stop that,' the Knight said, swiftly taking her hand off his cheek. 'You're engaged to be married.'_

'_That's not my decision! It's fathers!' she said desperately. 'I… Knight… why can't you… understand how I feel?'"_

"Oh, Knight, don't fall for her charms!"

UUUUGGGGHHH…

"_Princess…_

'_KNIGHT!' She cuddled her head into his chest, backing him into a pillar._

_The king heard her outburst at his back and walked a little quicker. He'd just reached the steps when he saw-_

'_Oh, hey,' the girl greeted weakly. 'You've been drinking, too?'"_

Oh, damn! This shit is really happening right now, isn't it?

"Oh, no! She's going to find Knight up there with Princess!" the Nurse exclaimed.

"'_You shouldn't go up there.' The king warned." _

Yeah, damn straight, you shouldn't…

"'_It's so stuffy. I just needed to get some air.' She replied stiffly. The king stopped for a mili-second as he passed her and he looked into her innocent eyes. There was one brief window. One small moment in time where the king could have stopped her. He could have saved her from inevitable heartbreak, but as the mili-second ticked on, he realized she needed to see that man up there with the princess. Not the saving, gallant Knight she thought he was, but the man who was human as much as anyone. The man who wasn't perfect._

_The man who didn't love her the way she loved him._

'_Gee, what's his problem?' she whispered with a frown as she watched him go. Then she cleared the steps to the balcony and gasped in surprise and horror. There they were. The two of them together. _

'_I've never chose to be a princess. I just want to be like a regular woman.' The princess said quietly, still snuggled into Knight's chest. Looking up for a moment, she noticed the girl dive behind a pillar to continue spying. With a small smirk, she turned up the volume. 'Knight, I'd throw everything away just to be with you. My father, my country…' _

'_Princess…' the Knight leaned in close and-"_

The Nurse let out a growling snarl and Van heard a loud thunk on the ground. "This stupid Knight and his stupid princess! God, I cannot read this anymore!"

You and me both, Van agreed.

"He is just as bad as Allen! No! He's worse than Allen! He apparently loved the princess' sister Marlene and now he's after her younger sister because she looks like her, but he's been flirting with the Mystic Moon girl this entire time he's met her! I mean, geez, make up your mind! How am I supposed to feel about that!? The girl loves him! The girl trusts him!" then she completely switched gears, "_I_ trusted him to be there and he wasn't! Not even calling or texting until later on the _next evening _to say 'I'm sorry'? Really? That's all I got? How is that going to make up for standing in the freezing cold for you to show up for our date? I don't even _like_ going on dates. I get so nervous and scared… but I went. I went and you bailed on me, Allen. Just like everyone else in my stupid life. Everyone always leaves me. Instead, I'd rather spend my holidays and nights reading to a comatose man who doesn't even know I exist." She was beginning to rant in tears. Her voice was cracking and wobbling all over the place. "I'm always alone and when I put myself out there… when I try to be social, I always end up right back where I started – alone." She obviously looked up at his face because her next words were to him.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Fanel. I'm sorry if you heard that. I'm grateful to you and I'm sorry if I am causing you problems by reading in here. I… I just feel happier in here reading. I don't really know why." There was a sound of cracking and the Nurse wiped her nose thickly before saying, "Ah, man, I bent some of the pages throwing it down. I'm sorry, book."

Van was surprisingly okay with listening to her rant. The girl was a hard worker from the sound of it and everyone needed someone to vent to from time to time. He, of course, had no way to tell her he'd actually been tuning in the entire time. But oh well, if it made her feel better than that was fine with him.

"'_Princess…' the Knight leaned in close and their lips connected. He wrapped his arm around her back to push her body closer – _

_The girl gasped with shocked sobs racking her body. _

_The Knight broke the kiss as soon as he heard it. 'What? Wait!' he cried as the girl turned on foot and bounded down the steps. 'No, Knight!' Princess grabbed his arm with both hands. _

'_Stay with me…'_

_The girl ran down the stairs, but stopped only mid-way as she tried to justify what she'd just seen in her mind. 'I'm so stupid. Of course, Knight already has somebody. I… haven't even known him for very long…I'm so stupid!' As the tears began to drip down her eyes, she raced down the rest of the steps and down the hallways back to her room." _The Nurse had started crying again as she read this. Her stuffy nose making her voice thick. That sound was the most pitiful thing Van had heard in his life.

"'_Ahhh… the city lights are so pretty…The lights in Fanelia were pretty, too. The stars shining so bright. It was pretty there…' Merle sighed to herself, sitting on the balcony of the girl's room._

_Unknown to her, yellow eyes glowing with danger waited above the bed canopy…_

Wait, what?

"Wait, what?" the Nurse sniffed. She reread the sentence and he heard her sit up in her chair.

That's right, let's get out of this sappiness and into some action! That's what Nurse needs.

"_Opening the door, the heartbroken girl collapsed on the bed and let her sobs come out. The cat girl sat up in surprise as she saw her curl up with a pillow. Leaping off the balcony, she bounced into the bed with an innocent: 'Hey, you! What's wrong? Hey, please tell me why you're crying?' _

'_Just leave me alone!' The girl shouted through her tears._

'_Boy, aren't we upset…' her natural urge to pester the girl got the better of her. 'Come on! Why are you crying! It's okay! You can tell me! Tell me! Tell me!'_

'_GO AWAY!' the girl smashed the cat with a pillow, knocking her to the ground._

'_What was that for?' Merle shrilled angrily. Seeing the girl fall back to the bed weeping, she growled. 'Fine! Cry yourself to sleep!' and bounded out the window for the roof. _

_It was not even a second later, the kidnappers made themselves known."_

"I've got to get back…" She sighed and Van could have sworn his heart beat increased two degrees. She was leaving the book on _that note!_ The girl was going to get kidnapped or killed!? He'd have to wait for Nurse to return!? And she might be off for the next few days!? He was going to be dying to know the rest of it!

"That's not the end of the chapter, but I had to cut it off from there, Mr. Fanel." She gently said to him her voice still blocked by her stuffy nose. She stood up and there was a crackling noise of a nose being blown. "I appreciate the sanctuary your room has given me. Oh wait. Guess what tomorrow is?"

My heart beats have a lot of conversational purpose, Nurse, Van thought sarcastically.

"Tomorrow we are going to retest your responses. They are going to ask you questions and see how your brain reacts to them. I'll figure out if you've been able to hear me when I read to you. And if it's true that you can hear and respond through brain activity, they'll keep you hooked onto the system. It follows the brain's waves and can actually figure out if you mean yes or no to questions! Isn't modern medicine cool?"

Spoken like a true excitable med student, he thought sarcastically. It _would_ be nice to be able to communicate again though…

"So you've got a big day ahead. I won't keep you any longer. Have a good night, Mr. Fanel. I hope you wake up soon."

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

* * *

When Van woke the next morning, he found himself surprisingly nervous about the test. So far, he'd been nothing but a listening corpse, but if they had him hooked to a machine where he could actually communicate with people – abet yes and no – they might start trying to dig deeper into what brought him here in the first place.

That was something Van really didn't want to face just yet.

He heard and felt his body shifted from his usual bed to a cold mattress. The sound of footsteps and rolling wheels. He was being moved.

How intricate would this process be? How could they possibly map his brain if it was his broken brain that was causing his paralysis coma?

"Hi, Mr. Fanel, I'm right beside you. We will be asking really simple questions, so don't you worry." The Nurse's cheerful voice came from his left.

"Nurse, we aren't sure if he's responsive. There's no need to speak to him yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry, you're right…" the kind Nurse was quieted awkwardly and Van felt a little annoyance at the guy's lack of manners. Geez, the Nurse was just doing her job! Go get a beer and chill, dude.

It was about another hour of set-up, Van preoccupied himself with thoughts of how this might actually work. Would they bring a machine back to his room if he was able to prove he was here? Would he get moved to another ward? His worry was put to rest as the neurological began explaining how to hook up the system to the Nurse. It sounded like he was going back to the same room. Sweet! Not so sweet was the actual setting up. A very uncomfortable cone was wrapped around his head like a bandage. Apparently it contained all these sensitive wires and whatnot that tracked his brain's electrical patterns. There were a few more monitors and then a little machine that made a churning noise.

Then the doctor pronounced everything was complete and his Nurse stepped forward.

"Mr. Fanel, we will begin soon. If you can, try to focus on the words 'yes' and 'no'. Okay… can you hear me?"

Yes. I always have been able to. Pretty boring most days.

"Oh, my god! Look at the flashing from the transmission!" the neurologist gasped. "He's very much all there!"

Hell yeah, I'm all here!

"Is your name Van Slanzar de Fanel?"

That's my name. Don't wear it out.

"Mr. Fanel, do you know where you are?"

Yes, at the hospital, duh!

"Is the sky blue?"

Only on occasion. Sometimes it rains, I guess. I don't know?

"Is the sun yellow?"

Only on children's papers. It's actually a-

"So all this activity at the front mean 'yes', right?" The Nurse asked apparently looking at his screen.

"That's right, he is quite the elaborate talker."

You try not having anyone to talk to in weeks and see how _elaborate_ you get!

"So that's what all this other stuff at the back is?"

The neurologist chuckled. "It looks as though Mr. Fanel has a bit more of a reaction then just a simple 'yes'. So you see these lines here? Maybe it's because _you_ are asking the questions…"

Wait, what? No, no, no. Don't say that! That sounded a lot like-

"Oh, no! Does he not like me?"

The doctor laughed. "Why don't you ask him and look at his brainwaves?"

"Mr. Fanel, do you know who I am?"

Yes, you're Nurse.

"He said yes, but do you see the small waves with it. He wishes to add more than just a simple yes. It makes things more confusing."

"Do you like me being your Nurse?"

She sighed in relief at the hesitant 'yes, I guess…' that was waving up on the screen. "I see there's a yes in there somewhere. That's good. So, what does this mean, doctor?" She asked her voice full of expectation.

"For a man who was shot in the head twice at point blank, I think Mr. Fanel has made a remarkable journey. That will to communicate is strong. One bullet passed through this particular part of his brain and that ironically seems to be the part that's most active. You've got an extraordinarily brave man here."

Extraordinary, yes, _brave_… probably stupidly so...

"I will sign off permission for your long-term ward to keep this machine with him. Our neuro-tech can move the system and set him up there. Maybe, with this communication device, we can figure out a way to get his physical body moving."

YES, please.

"Ha ha! He just said yes really strongly! Doctor, this is amazing!" The Nurse cheered.

There was a small pause in their conversation. "You really care about your patients, don't you, Nurse?" The doctor's tone took on a vibe, it almost sounded flirty to Van's ears.

A bit too flirty…

The most oblivious Nurse in the universe just chirped back, "I sure do, Doctor."

"I bet you do," he purred enchantingly low and soft. 'And please, call me, Dryden.'

NO.

* * *

They gave him a complete overview of his mission and twelve days to fulfill it. The silver-haired twin came to him again. She shut the door to his office and he drowned out his impending responsibilities in the pleasures she gave him. He buried his hands in her thick wavy curls, entangled his body in hers.

But when she left… he felt hollow. Sick.

His eyes latched to the middle drawer once more. The gun.

Why did it have to be him?

Why couldn't he have died the first time?

* * *

It was three days later that he finally saw Nurse again. He was a little impatient considering she'd left the book at a very crucial part, but he couldn't be angry with her. Van knew the poor girl needed a break from time to time.

And speaking of break…

"I'm so happy to be in here! I am sorry for the long wait, Mr. Fanel. I know it's been a while. I got a little fever from waiting in the cold earlier this week, but as soon as I felt better I came in to take care of the night shift." She sat in the chair and asked, "Do you like it when I read to you?"

Well, considering I used to hate it, I have to admit I don't mind it so much any-

"Please keep your answer to a solid 'yes' or 'no'." She laughed. "I cannot understand you with all those lights on the screen."

Fine. YES.

"That's… really nice to hear…" her voice was warm. Happy. She sounded like she'd healed a bit from the Allen fiasco.

"I like the story… and I like reading it to you as well... Let's see what happened, shall we!"

YES.

"_It was not even a second later, the kidnappers made themselves known. Hearing their webbed feet thump on the floor, the girl sat up with a gasp._

'_What?!' She cried, and before she could scream, a moist, greenish palm slapped itself over her mouth." _

"Are they going to kill her!?"

YES. NO. YES. NO. I don't know! Keep going!

"_Merle was furious." _

"Ahhh, back to Merle!" She groaned.

"'_Why does she have to be so hot-headed,' the cat girl grumbled to herself, fixing her bent up fur on her cheek with the back of her palm. Her left ear pricked up and she listened closely._

'_Huh?' Skipping over the roof shingles, she peered down into the window she's just scampered out of. Her eyes went wide as she watched the girl's head disappear into a sack. _

'_They charged way too much for this one…' one of them hissed. _

'_Meiden's interested in her, too.' Another replied as they tied the fighting sack on their back and crawled out the window. Merle shrunk back in horror as they climbed down the side of the building. A small submarine was floating in the water waiting for them._

_The cat girl jumped down and watched the submarine begin to drift away. _

'_She got sold off?' She whispered. Remembering her bent whiskers, she dismissed the window with an air of indifference. 'Why should I care?' Then her heart filled with conflict as she spied the bed where the girl had been weeping only moments before. Her ears dropped._

'_I've got to tell him. I've got to go tell my lord.'"_

And here comes the king to save the day! About damn time!

"'_Somebody help me!' the girl screamed her arms tied to a ladder in the submarine. One of the lizard men driving cackled happily. 'Nobody can hear you, girl!'_

'_Not even a Guymelef can catch us in the water!'_

_The girl wanted to cry. So, no one would come to save her. If only Knight… An image of him kissing princess made her heart wrench with despair. _

'_Oh, Knight…' she whispered, 'I guess… he won't be saving me.'"_

Damn right, he won't!

"_The submarine maneuvered quickly through the steams, finally paddling closer to one of the ports. It seemed like the kidnappers had their operation covered. No so much in the floating fortress only a mile away Palas._

'_We're doing everything in our power to assist in the search, but Austuria is a big country and there is a limit to the amount of soldiers we can spare to find a Guymelef.'_

'_Then allow us to conduct the search ourselves.' Stratego reasoned calmly. _

'_We will use our __**own**__ troops to find Escaflowne,' the steward to King Aston said confidently._

_Aston chose his words carefully: 'If you don't mind… I'd like to know why you have so much interest in that Guymelef?' _

'_Oh, I see…' Stratego started, but there was a knock on the door. 'Enter.'_

'_Stratego, our men report that the 'dragon' is caught in our net.' _

_The king and steward glanced at each other quickly." _

"Oh, no, what does that mean?"

If this dragon is the king then that is the most friggin' awesome nickname ever.

"_The canal wasn't very deep for a thirty foot Guymelef. The mecha, however, was fighting back long drapes of cloth to disguise it as Austurian. This inhibited the king from piloting it properly and only made Merle's shrieks of, 'come on, lord, you have to hurry up', all the more annoying._

'_I owe her. I've got to save her!' his dark red eyes shimmering with determination. Reaching the end of a canal, the mecha halted as the cat girl trained her ears to hear the murmur of the kidnapper's submarine._

'_That way!' she pointed to the right. The king swiftly charged as fast as it could go. Barely clearing a bridge, a bit of the fabric covering the mecha snagged and ripped, exposing the left side._

_A photo was planted on Stratego's lap by a Zaibach soldier. 'This shadow graph was taken by one of our lookouts.' It was a detailed picture of the Escaflowne._

'_It would seem we don't have to search for it after all.' Stratego mused. _

_King Aston's face turned pale and sour. 'We didn't think it could be disguised. Send out the garrison immediately. _

'_Yes, sire!' the steward sprinted away._

_Unable to meet the Stratego's eye, the king rubbed his forehead and said, 'I had no idea it was already in Palas… 'Stratego, it is your time to keep up your end of the treaty. I request the dispatch of Zaibach soldiers.' _

'_You are a formidable king, Your Majesty,' the dark-cloaked man complemented. 'Go now. Wake Dilandau,' he commanded the soldier._

'_That… won't be necessary…'_

_The sound of a flying engine was crossing into Palas; a spark of red when the stealth cloak brushed away in the wind. Maniacal laughter could be heard from the control chamber. 'Just you wait, King of Fanelia…' he hissed happily._

'_I didn't know you were such a light sleeper,' Stratego's voice came from the intercom. _

'_Oh, I'm still dreaming and it's getting better. I'm dreaming of the King of Fanelia…'_

'_That is an urban area. Do not involve the citizenry."_

'_I'll… do my best.'_

_The red Guymelef landed in the water causing a large wave to splash down the channel; spilling over the Escaflowne. Merle shrieked and the king got soaked. _

_But-_

'_Oh, look! There they are!' The cat girl squealed, spying the sub from the receding water._

'_They found us!' the lookout lizard man screeched. _

'_You can't be serious?'_

'_DIVE, DIVE, DIVE!'_

'_KNIGHT!' The girl cried out happily."_

"Oh, she is going to be so disappointed it's not Knight."

Whatever, keep reading!

"_The water continued to grow deeper as the king found the Escaflowne was having trouble standing properly. He'd have to go under to find the sub. 'Merle, swim to shore!' he demanded before taking a deep breath. The dragon armor submerged._

_Merle climbed from the Channel and watched in despair from the walkway. 'My lord…no…'_

_The kidnappers were happily squawking: 'YES!'_

'_We did it!'_

'_No Guymelef can follow us under water!'_

_Said too quickly, a large lurch made the lizard men fall forward. 'What was that?' The three of them shrieked together. The girl ducked her head fearfully._

_Up from the depths of the Channel, the Escaflowne emerged; water rushing out of gear spouts and pipes. And in its hands lay the kidnapper's submarine. The king opened the pilot's hood and coughed out the salty water. Panting for breath, he glanced down at his hand and his eyes sharpened once more._

_Opening the hatch with an easy hand, the kidnappers all gathered tougher panicked. 'Oh, Knight…' the girl cried, just knowing he'd come for her. But then the tell-tale white metal of the Guymelef made her stop short. 'But it's you… you came to rescue me?' She saw his tan face peering at her from the open pilot's hood. His dark eyes spilled with relief."_

The Nurse paused for a moment. "Hey, Mr. Fanel? Are you excited right now? Your brainwave screen is going crazy."

Of course I'm excited! My favorite character is kicking ass!

"Do you really like the story?"

Right now? YES.

"Do you have a favorite character?"

YES.

"Is the girl your favorite character?"

NO.

"Knight?"

HELL NO!

"Wow… that was a _harsh_ no," she giggled. "Merle the cat girl?"

You have got to be kidd-NO.

She laughed loudly at that one. "I was just joking on that last one. It's the king, isn't it? Your brain starts lighting up in all these different waves when I read about him."

YES. He's awesome.

"He's pretty cool, I guess…" She was obviously humoring him, but he didn't care.

KEEP GOING!

"I'll keep going."

"_Lifting her gently out of the sub, he let the boat go – along with its shrieking inhabitants - and started walking to the edge where Merle was cheering. _

_People gathered around as they stood in awe of the Ispano. _

'_Are you okay?' the king asked her as the cat girl climbed up and bit through her bindings._

'_Yeah, I am, thanks,' she said her feelings jumbled._

'_Just great!' Merle chimed in. 'What kind of moron would let herself get kidnapped by geckos?'_

'_Well, pardon me,' the girl snarled._

_It was a relief for them. It was all over._

_Or was it…?_

'_Found you…' _

_The king looked up sharply as a mechanical noise filled the air. It was a Zaibach Guymelef! A scarlet one!_

"_Die!' Dilandau shrieked as he landed. Instantly, he attacked with the cremma claw, pulverizing the building to the left of the Escaflowne. He shot another and the Guymelef dodged. Evading more strikes, the king ejected the sword from the Ispano's back and challenged. Another cremma claw attack and another dodge. Buildings were torn asunder as the Escaflowne fought to avoid the relentless onslaught._

_Dilandau flicked a switch on his right arm. Blasting flames straight at the Escaflowne, the king ran to the right just in time and fled into an alleyway._

'_Wait for me…' In hot pursuit, the king turned and parried Dilandau's attack; tossing the scarlet Guymelef into another building. He shot off more fire, hitting innocent building after building. House after house. All around him was burning. 'Yes… BURN!' Twisted in his own excitement, Dilandau scorched everything in his way, reveling in the fire and destruction he created. _

_Escaflowne backed away from the scarlet monster as fire spread to surround them. The girl sat up from his hand, her voice panicked, 'Oh, no! The city is burning!' People ran for their lives as wave after wave of flames caught fire and spread. Ash, smoke, and blistering heat were too familiar for the young king. _

'_You can't get away this time…'_

'_Stop it! We can't fight here!' The king roared from his hood._

'_Too bad. The city is burning because of you and my cheek is throbbing because of you. You are getting exactly what you deserve! Now DIE!' His arm pointed the cremma claw for a direct hit._

_Pushing the claw, Dilandau rejoiced for only a brief moment before the white Guymelef began to change before his eyes. 'Whaaa!' He cried as it leapt into the air, extending itself into a dragon and dodging the projectile just in time."_

"How awesome is that?" The Nurse broke from reading to comment gleefully.

YES!

"_The Guymelef dragon landed hard on the scarlet mecha, damaging the shoulder gears before taking off into the night._

_A flash of light caught the madman's eye and he swiveled around to see the Knight's Guymelef standing challengingly before him. _

'_So it's you again, Knight…' Dilandau cooed._

'_Dilandau, I can't let you do anymore damage to this city.'_

_Meanwhile, in the sky, the dragon mecha soared through the air carrying the king and the two girls. The king piloted the machine smoothly on the crevice of its neck, the wind of the night sweeping chilling over the trio. _

'_Are you alright?' he asked the girl, lifting his left controller with a shaking hand to correct his altitude. Merle clutched her arms around his middle and whimpered._

'_Yes, thank you,' she said, curling herself in front of him. Glancing down at the flames as they slowly disappeared behind them, the girl's face fell still and quiet. _

'_Goodbye, Knight…' she whispered as they escaped further from the city of Palas._

The book folded and she sat back in her seat. "I can start the next chapter or we can leave it here, Mr. Fanel." She said softly. "Are you tired? Do you want to continue?"

NO. YES.

With a small laugh, she said happily, "I'm glad you are enjoying it. And I'm also glad I get the chance to understand you a little bit more." The book opened and she flipped a page, but before she began reading she softly uttered, "Hey, Mr. Fanel, can I ask you a question?"

YES. – As long as it isn't too personal…

"Did you hear about my relationship with Allen?"

Van hesitated for a moment before thinking the word: YES.

"Do you think I should call him?"

NO. – That one came a bit faster than he wanted.

"I shouldn't call him? Huh… I wish I could ask you why. He's… always on my mind. Sometimes, I can't help but picture him as Knight in this book, ya know?"

A fitting image. Knight's an idiot and Allen's a bastard. Yes, that picture works quite nicely.

"Want to know who I picture as the girl?"

Uhhh… sure. I mean, YES.

"Yukari. She's so steady and strong and wise. Well, wiser than me when it comes to relationships. She knows what she wants and goes for it. The girl loves Knight so much. I'm just a coward when it comes to stuff like that."

Honestly, Van thought the Nurse was a more like the girl than anyone else. Especially with her annoying fascination for the Knight. Nurse was very confident in many things: her job, her reading. She was an A-class reader that was for sure. Van wondered if she'd ever thought about being a reader for audio books. If not, nursing suited the gentle lady just fine. And the girl in the book was a mess when it came to her feelings. She wasn't confident at all! She just got kidnapped by lizard men for being cock-blocked, for Christ's sake!

"Okay, I'm done with this. I'm just being silly. Let's keep going. Next chapter."

YES.

* * *

Her phone vibrated in her pocket as she walked to work the next afternoon. Her breath catching, she saw the caller id and winced. Allen. She'd been avoiding him for two days now. Maybe this time she should pick up. Mr. Fanel had said she shouldn't, but… she _did _like Allen. Sure, she wasn't positive she was ready for another date, but it didn't hurt to talk to him. At least settle the issue as to why he stood her up.

She took the call with a shaking swipe of her finger.

"Hello?"

"Hitomi?" His voice was warm on her eardrums.

"Hi, Allen," she said stiffly.

"Hitomi, please don't hang up! I wanted to apologize for not showing the other night. I got into a bad accident with my motorcycle and ended up riding in an ambulance with another person who was hurt in the collision."

"Oh, really? Which hospital was it?" Hitomi asked with her eyebrow quirked.

"The one on west side. It was closer."

"Why didn't you send me a text or something?"

"I lost my phone during the accident. I got a new one the next day and tried to text you, but you didn't respond. Please, don't be mad at me! I really wanted to be there. I… really like you."

Her face blushed and she cleared her tightening throat. She wasn't used to such a straightforward confession. It was weird and nice at the same time.

"You like me?"

"… Yeah, I do. I am so sorry I didn't show up! Please, give me another chance."

Should she? Hitomi knew she was being a bit harsh, especially since he seemed to sincerely want to date her. She couldn't blame him that he got into an accident. But… an image of Mr. Fanel's brainwave saying, "No," made her hesitate for a few more seconds.

Why didn't Mr. Fanel think it was a good idea?

"Hitomi?"

She sighed into the air and it fogged out of her lips in the cold air. "Alright, fine, Allen. I'll give you one more chance."

* * *

The days were passing.

They were passing too quickly.

He had to do it soon.

She made him forget for just a moment, that silver vixen. Every time she left he saw the gun in the drawer.

Van Fanel was a skilled investigator. He probably was already on the offensive and the company didn't even know it.

But no. No, no, no, no, he was in a coma.

But Folken knew his brother.

He couldn't wait. The longer he waited the more Van would improve.

He knew his brother would use every single skill he possessed to take the company down.

Sex, money, power… all with taking one life.

A life he'd wished he'd known better.

But he would be loyal.

He had to be.

* * *

**The chapters are going to only get longer from here. I want to give a special thank you to all of those that reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story. I hope it doesn't disappoint. :)**

**Valentine's Day is coming quickly! I gotta keep editing!**

**Hearts and love to all!**

**blue...**


	3. Chapter 3: Allen and The Knight

**And we continue...**

* * *

Jessica had forgotten to change the bedding in Mr. Fanel's room – she mentioned so on her way out the door. Hitomi sighed quietly and begrudgingly put her coat into her locker.

Not even ten minutes in the ward…

Walking quickly down the tiled hallway towards his door, she noticed the curtain had been drawn back from his window. Probably another thing Jessica forgot to do. Privacy for patients…

Her hand on the door, her eyes suddenly turned to look at him. He was still, his brainwave machine making small spikes here and there. It was wrapped around the back of his head; small wires catching any thought he might be having.

She wondered if he was asleep. He looked so peaceful lying there in his blue gown.

She noticed his bandages on his head standing out drastically against his thick black hair. One on the side of the head. One on the hairline. Two gunshot wounds, so said his chart. His long fringe would thankfully cover the scar that lined his forehead, but the side wound… the surgeons had to shave a patch of his head to get to it.

It was already growing back.

She smiled to herself with an encouraging thought. That patch of growing black hair… she hold that like a promise. Mr. Fanel would get better – it might be slow and steady – but someday, he'd walk out of this hospital.

She opened his door and silently slipped inside.

* * *

The Nurse had already in early to check his bedding, but she sounded really busy or distracted. That was okay, though. Van's mind was reviewing the latest chapter as he waited for the afternoon to change to evening.

Hopefully this chapter would get better. It had started out horribly:

The girl, obviously still retardedly hung up on the Knight, had a dream where they went on this silly date in her world. Honestly, Van thought the author had kind of lost her mind when writing that part. It was pretty delusional even for normal standards. So, as they are about to kiss after this fun filled day of whatever the crap, the princess randomly shows up and Knight kisses her instead of the girl and then the world broke up around the girl's feet and she fell and this angel guy caught her and she knew it was the Knight somehow because he looked like an angel and blah, blah, blah.

So Knight had angel wings or some dumb shit? Ooookay…

The Nurse had a different reaction. "Oh, my god, is he an angel or something? What does this mean? He does have the attributes of an angel: Chivalrous, blue eyes, long blond hair. If it turns out Knight's an actual angel then I don't see how you could dislike him anymore, Mr. Fanel."

NO.

Anyways, Nurse continued with the girl waking up, embarrassing herself in front of Merle and the king, trying to eat some bugs, and she and the king talking for a bit. That part was actually really good character development. Van learned more about this necklace thing that the girl had – a 'good luck charm' from her grandmother – and they talked about their family. Van would have thought the subject of _family_ would a sore spot for the king (his older brother _had _kind of turned into a dick), but apparently he was pretty chill with discussing it. They decided to stick together for the time being just to see how things turned out. All in all, Van was surprisingly satisfied with that small scene. About time the king got some recognition.

Then it switch to tell of Zaibach invading Palas because duh and angel Knight was in jail because HA! Princess demands the release of Knight and when her father refuses saying that Zaibach was going to use them to attack Freid, she realizes her father is a douche. Nice going, lady.

The Nurse had to end it there. Her break was over.

But she did leave these parting thoughts, "You know what, Mr. Fanel? The king really isn't that bad of a character. He's had a hard past just like Knight. Maybe even worse. I still like Knight more though. Even if he is with the princess…"

NO.

The smile was in her voice as she got up from her chair. "You really hate Knight, don't you?"

YES.

* * *

"Mr. Fanel, can you hear me?" The doctor named Dryden asked. Van could smell the stale coffee on his breath as the man leaned towards his face to watch the screen above his head.

YES. Can you back off of me? Your breath smells…

"You can? Good. Everything looks to be in stable order," The neurologist confirmed. "Tell me if you can feel this?" Dryden poked a small pin on Van's foot.

YES.

The pin poked higher on his foot. "How about here?"

YES.

Ankle.

YES.

Calf.

YES.

Knee.

YES.

Hip.

YES.

"Good, good, good!" the doctor had a grin on his voice. "Moving on to the next side."

All the way up his legs, arms, shoulders, and neck, Van could feel everything. The doctor even tugged gently on his ears with a delightful laugh. YES. He could feel that, too. He could feel everything.

Dryden announced that his forehead bandage could be removed today. The scar from the surgery would be hardly noticeable. Time still needed to heal the side wound.

Van didn't care.

It didn't matter if his bandages could come off.

He still couldn't move.

He still couldn't open his eyes.

* * *

It was about that time. The door opened and Van heard her quietly enter. He greeted her with a solid YES.

"Oh, you got one of your bandages off! That's wonderful!" she sounded tired, but happy for him. "It's been a long night already. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for the rest of this chapter. Let's read it to celebrate!"

YES.

Hearing her plop down into her seat, she began as soon as the page fell open:

"_The rocks, dirt, and heat wafted in the dusty air as the men dug for hours in the overhanging sun. The crater they chiseled at held large bones – dragon bones – embedded into the rocks and hills. Small light pink stones were slowly gathered into a large pile. Energists from a dragon graveyard. Standing above to survey the work, the Commander of the project stroked a large python that was wrapped lazily around his body._

'_I received a message from General Adolphus,' a courier said urgently walking up to the Commander. 'Energists are in short supply. Speed up excavation and transport.' Pausing for a moment for a reply, the courier piped in, 'Uh, Commander?'_

_His light-red hair reflected in the sun as the Commander turned to the man questioningly. With a growl, he kicked the courier in the face with his boot. 'That's enough, soldier, I heard you! No, they don't even bother to ask what it's like out here in the field.'_

_A large shadow crept over the sight, blocking out the sun. The Commander looked up lazily. 'Peh, just a dragon,' he dismissed. _

_Little did he know, there was a lot more to this particular dragon…_

_The king, girl, and Merle huddled down in the cock-pit to avoid being seen as the Escaflowne flew over the site. The king piloted very gently, trying to avoid being recognized. 'The Dragon's Graveyard." The king said, looking around the area._

'_Well, that reading was way off!' Merle shrilled. 'This is really dangerous.'_

'_But the tarot cards said this was a good place to travel…' The girl defended, holding tightly onto the king's hips._

'_Don't worry,' the king smiled at her. 'Your prediction was right on target.'_

'_Oh?'_

'_I'm taking us in!' the dragon armor dived downward, landing just far enough from the dig site." _

"Why would he do that? Didn't Merle say it was dangerous?" Nurse broke from the book to ponder. "What do you think, Mr. Fanel? Good idea?"

Well, Van reasoned, if the enemy is mining the power supply in mass quantities, it would make sense to try and destroy it. The king was trying to stop Zaibach in any way possible. This would be a huge loss to the enemy. Only thing was, he had those girls with him. If he tucked them away out of sight and found a way to blow up the supply being the badass that he was then it was all worth it.

With that conclusion, Van gave her a YES.

"You _would_ side with the king..." She chuckled.

YES.

"_Knight ducked his head, his back aching and his head throbbing. How was he ever going to escape?"_

Leave him in there to rot!

"_An echoed gasp from the dungeon guard and Knight looked up quickly, 'Princess? My princess, you shouldn't be down here!'_

'_It's alright. Don't worry; I have my father's permission.'_

'_I haven't heard anything about that?' _

'_Oh, dear!' the princess gasped as she fell the last three steps and collapsed on her side. _

_The guard dropped his baton in his surprise, running up to the fallen princess. 'Are you okay? Hold on! Are you alright?' he asked kneeling closer to her._

'_I-I don't know… it may be broken…' she gasped dramatically. Lifting up the hem of her dress, she asked sweetly, 'Would you please have a look at it?' The man, thoroughly distracted by her exposure, didn't even see the man sneaking up in front of him. A thonk from a club later, and the man was down._

'_HA! Gotcha!'_

'_Gadeth!' Knight rose to his feet at the sight of his second-in-command. _

'_Hurry!' the princess called. _

'_Right!'"_

"Knight is saved!" Nurse cheered.

Yaaaaaay… Van answered with less enthusiasm.

"'_What's the Dragon's Graveyard?' The girl asked curiously, peeping over the side of a large rock and watching the men load up the carts. The Escaflowne was parked behind a wide enough crater._

'_It's where dragons come to die.' Merle answered with annoyance._

'_So why are they digging?'_

_Merle sighed shortly, 'They're taking energists out of the dragon fossils.'_

_Above their heads, the king counted swiftly with dark focused eyes. 'Okay, six Guymelefs…' Leaving his spot, he quickly joined back with the waiting girls._

'_What do they do with the energists once they dig them up?' the girl was asking._

_The cat-girl faltered. 'Uh… well… they…' _

'_They're used as power sources in Guymelefs,' he answered without looking._

'_Oh, yeah, what he said,' Merle said sheepishly. _

'_But, king, wasn't that thing you put-'_

'_Yes, Escaflowne powered by an energist, too. Well, actually the proper name for this is drag-energist.'_

'_What's a drag-energists?'_

'_Those drag-energists power Guymelefs and Levee Ships. That's why they dig them out of these dragon graveyards. In a war, the side that possesses the most energists wins.'"_

"Wait, wait, wait, something just occurred to me… Fanelia defeats dragons in dangerous one-on-one combat to get their energists, right?"

YES. Maybe…? Van should have paid more attention at the beginning of the book…

"And Zaibach just simply mines them in mass quantities?"

Van could see where she was going with this.

"No wonder Dilandau called Fanelia a 'back-woods little country'. That sounds like the worst way to get your energists. Really stupid actually."

…YES.

"_Okay, stay here you two.'_

'_But…'_

_The king growled sharply as his eyes burned at the mine field. 'Zaibach won't do as they please…'_

_Meanwhile, a carriage was speeding long a dangerously rocky hill carrying the Ausuturian fugitive, Knight, and their youngest princess. _

'_Freid? Zaibach's going to attack the Duchy of Freid?' Knight gasped as the carriage hit another high bump._

'_Father's just going to sit by and watch, Prince Chid, his own grandson die!'_

'_How awful…' Knight hissed._

'_Knight… you're the only person who can stop it, but I will stay by your side,' she declared._

_As the carriage arrived at the secret dock where the levee ship was stationed, the second-in-command shouted, 'Commander! We've arrived.'_

_Bursting out of the door, Knight turned with a breath catching. Standing by the abandoned gear was a long cloaked woman. Eris, princess' older sister. Behind her stood the old theif._

'_Sister, I won't tell father about this,' she said sternly. 'Come back to the castle with me.' _

'_No! I won't go back, sister! I've made up my mind! I'm leaving with Knight and we are going to leave the country!' With a sharp gasp, she found herself suddenly in Knight's arms. 'Knight!' she gulped as he carried her back to the carriage. 'Knight, put me down! Knight, I'm going with you! Knight, I wanna go! Please, why aren't you listening to m-' _

_Her back hit the seat and he kissed her mid-protest."_

"Ahhh, again with the kissing!" she groaned.

"_Princess, take care…' he breathed after breaking away. She laid for a moment, her brain trying to sort out what had just happened. He ran out the door, leaving her behind. She jumped up at the found of whips and screaming horses. The carriage began racing back down the mountainside. _

'_No! KNIGHT!' she cried out the window. _

_He watched for a second longer as the dust rose and faded and she slipped from view. Gadeth, watching the scene with a smirk, suddenly caught sight of incoming Austurian soldiers._

'_Damn!' he cursed. 'Ship sail! Get moving! Commander!'"_

"Sorry, Mr. Fanel. I usually don't like cussing, but that's what was in the book."

If Van could, he would have laughed and laughed. He was not surprised this gentle lady would apologize for a swear word written in a book. If only she knew how much of a mouth he had on him…

YES. He thought to her, hoping that was comforting enough.

"_Knight bowed to the eldest sister as the ship began to lift off. 'Excuse me,' he said politely, leaping onto the airship. Just in time, the soldiers approached just as the ship took off into the sky. 'Knight…' the eldest sister whispered, both impressed at the man's bravery and relieved he left her sister behind._

_The carriage stopped and the princess ran out to see the ship leaving. _

'_Knight…' she whispered. 'I'm never going to give up.'"_

Great, so Knight was now free to screw up the story.

"_Back at the Dragon Graveyard, the Commander of the mine was ranting. 'Look, would you do something about that! Don't just stand there, damn it!' (_"Sorry, Mr. Fanel."_) He roared, kicking one of the workers in the side and knocking him over. As a shadow began to grow overhead, the redhead man looked up and sighed, 'Another dragon…' He froze for a moment, feeling that something wasn't quite right. 'Or… then again…' Turning back, he screamed. _

_The king dived the Escaflowne into the crater, panicked men running from their pickaxes, and pulled up sharply to transform into the Guymelef frame. _

'_A Guymelef!?' the man squealed. _

'_We're under attack!' a soldier cried out motioning to one of the Guymelef pilots. 'We're under attack!'_

_Stomping forward to the Escaflowne, the king reacted just in time to parry the attack with its sword. It easily overcame the other Melef and cut off its arm. Stabbing the energist core, the king turned on instant and destroyed another core of a Guymelef sneaking up to his rear. The cheaply made mecha fell apart in an instant. The king looked to his left, his heart leapt._

'_An energist storehouse,' he said quickly. 'If I can just take that out I'd-'_

_To his right, a Guymelef claw used for digging deep in the earth sprang upward to get him and he sliced it just in time. The debris fell over the workers, who were running for their lives. The redheaded Commander straightened up and spied the king's fight. 'That must be the Escaflowne Dilandau is after…' he realized with a gleam. _

'_Is he going to be okay?' the girl asked Merle has the two of them watched the destruction worriedly behind a rock._

'_Hope so…' she moaned._

_A red and black dotted lizard climbed over the rock in front of them. Merle, being the distracted kitten, caught it by the tail, but it escaped leaving the tail behind. Both girls made noises of disgust._

_There was a lower voice of disgust right behind them. Gasping, they looked to see a Zaibach soldier standing there. They both screamed. The girl raced to the left, but her arm was snatched by his rough fingers. Merle was yanked back by the scruff of her shirt. Both girls fought for freedom, but Merle had the claws. She scratched his face and slipped away as fast as she could._

'_Merle! Don't go!' the girl cried out._

_Parrying yet another Guymelef charge, the king knocked the mecha to the ground and it slid a good distance, disrupting several digging stations. A tractor Melef roared, its wheels spilling dirt and dust into the air as it rammed the Escaflowne. The king roared as he stabbed forward and broke the tractor's claw, a massive explosion following._

'_That will be enough!' A voice rang crystal clear over the site. The king stopped and turned. His dark red eyes growing wide. _

'_I'm sorry,' the girl whispered, with a sword to her throat. The blade was held by the Commander, who smiled darkly. 'Now come on out of there.' He hissed with a laugh-."_

Her phone buzzed with a call breaking the tense mood instantly. "Oh, no…" she groaned. "It's Allen… I've _told_ him not to call right now."

Well, the bastard doesn't seem to care, does he?

"Do you mind if I take this call really quickly, Mr. Fanel?" she asked, her voice full of anxiety. "I promise I won't be on long."

Van tried to how he didn't mind the interruption… but he did mind. In fact, he minded a lot. She'd told that idiot that this wasn't the time to call her and yet here he was butting into the best part of Van's day. He was irritated she was pushed around so easily. Didn't she care to stick up for herself? Was she really that forgiving to the guy who stood her up in the freezing cold?

The result of his thoughts was a clouded mixture of brainwaves that not even the most skilled neurologist could read.

"I'm going to take it. I'm sorry, Mr. Fanel. I have to…"

DAMN IT.

Book: 3

Allen: 2

* * *

Well, they were going on a date tomorrow night.

She told that scumbag she'd take the next two nights off just in case he dodged out on their date again. She was laughing and giggling for ten minutes straight.

Van was pissed.

FINALLY, the phone call ended and she announced happily, "We're going on another date, Mr. Fanel!" like he hadn't been laying there listening for the entire conversation.

Well, whoopee for you… Van thought sourly. Giving the idiot another chance to stand you up?

"I know this is probably disappointing since we will have to postpone on the book, but I'll make it up to you somehow." She said sweetly, completely misunderstanding Van's brainwaves and feelings. "Let's try to get as much of this chapter finished as possible. We will read an entire chapter to the end next time I'm here."

YES. Van answered her, his true frustration unknown to her.

Man, being paralyzed sucked balls!

"_A thud and a grunt. Another thud and a groan. The king's head snapped to the left as a pole slammed his jaw. His head snapped to the right as the pole smashed into his eye. He tried to grit his teeth, but it was all he could do not to cry out in agony. His hands tied above his head, the king was suspended above the air, swinging like a dead man from a hangmen's noose._

'_Please, stop it! Don't hurt him!' the girl pleaded, her arms trapped between two soldiers. She was hit hard on the shoulder and she cried out in pain. The man beating the king began counting. The pounding continued and continued with each increasing number. It was getting harder and harder to take a breath. His vision was blacking out further. The Commander just smiled as his pet python swiveled around his arm and over his shoulder. The Escaflowne was parked beside them, also being carefully watched._

'_I'm scared…' poor Merle whispered from a hiding spot in the shadows. _

'_Oh, no…' the restrained girl whimpered, watching the bruises already appearing on the king's face. _

_Motioning for his soldiers to stop, the Commander came closer. 'So, you must be the dragon Emperor is looking for. You can talk to me.' The king grunted as the snake man gave him a sound punch in the jaw. His head hanging limp, his body swaying back and forth, he tried not to lose consciousness. 'What are you after? How did you find out about this place?' He turned his pounding head away defiantly."_

Holy crap, what a badass…

"_The Commander's sharp elbow caught him in the cheek and his ears began to ring. 'Un-believe-able…' the snake man shrugged contently leaving him swinging. 'What an unreasonable little boy…' Kneeling before the girl, he held out his hand and his snake's head twisted to his palm. 'Please allow me to introduce my friend, little lady. This is Nina. One bite from her and you're dead. Oh, but don't worry, she listens to me. Go on, Nina. Go on and say hello…' _

_She gasped and tried to back away as the snake stretched to meet her. The men holding her arms kept her from moving any further. It swung lazily around her legs and hips, tightening only slightly to keep its grip. _

'_Stop! Just wait!' the king growled through his throbbing face, 'What are you going to do? Leave her out of it!' As the snake came closer to wrap around her chest, she whimpered in fear, her green eyes glistening with tears of panic. 'Stop it! Please stop!' He demanded, his fear matching her own. _

_The snake was at her neck now, his yellow eyes bright and interested. _

'_Go on, Nina. Give her a little kiss… Put a little love in it…' The snakes forked tongue slipped out and touched her cheek twice. _

_An unexpected shrill ringing made everything halt. Even the snake looked confused. _

'_What?' -_

'_What's that?' -_

'_What's going on?' the men all shouted in bewilderment. _

'_What's that noise!?' the Commander yelled over the conundrum. _

_Merle, fresh from her hiding place, was frantically searching through her clothes. It was the device she'd taken from the girl! Pressing a button in her haste, she turned off the beeping._

_It was just enough of a distraction for the king. As two puzzled soldiers looked around for the source, the king saw an opportunity. He swung on his arms back and forth and used the momentum to kick up one of the soldier's swords that was haphazardly belted to his waist. The newly freed sword tossed upward and sliced through the rope holding him. He landed, catching the sword in his bounded hands before it hit the ground."_

YES!

"He's pretty cool, Mr. Fanel. I'll give you that." The Nurse had a smile on her voice.

"_Instantly, he charged the two soldiers, cutting them down where they stood. He maneuvered further, stabbing a soldier through, twisting around to slice off the snakes head to free her, before changing course and taking out two more with a heartbeat's time. He halted back in front of the girl, protectively shielding her with his body and sword._

'_That's enough!' the girl squealed as the king approached the snake man menacingly. The Commander backed away blinded in his fright. The edge of the cliff came to meet him and he was sent tumbling down the side. His red head hit a rock and his eyes grew dim. He was gone._

_The king dropped the sword and turned to the girl, 'Go hide! There are more soldiers!' he instructed before racing off to the Escaflowne. Transforming it into dragon form, he flew over the Dragon Graveyard, his mind fervently searching for a way to destroy the warehouse full of energists. His wish resonated with the Escaflowne, the crystal core glowing a bright light. _

'_He's headed for the storehouse!' one soldier screamed as they crossed a bridge. Underneath the bridge, the girl and Merle sat trembling in fear. _

'_Oh, no, my lord…' Merle whimpered._

_The girl, however, noticed a strange light coming from her chest. Glancing down, she saw her grandmother's pendant begin to glow. _

'_My energist is reacting to something,' the king murmured wonderingly, noticing the brilliant light shining forth. Looking to the warehouse, he gasped in a breath. The energists within it were glowing as well; the light so bright it was almost blinding. 'The energists…. They're resonating…'_

_BOOOOOM. _

_The earth and sky shook as the warehouse exploded. The pressure of the blast disrupted the Escaflowne's flight and the king fought for control. Meanwhile, the ground was dangerously breaking apart with each passing second. Cratering cracks splintered deep inside the earth. Rocks, falling equipment, huts, and people alike tumbled together as the world crumbled into pieces. _

_The two girls were in the middle of it!_

_Merle, with the safety of her claws, held on as more of the earth broke under their feet. The girl, unable to grasp the crumbling ground, slipped and fell; her body tumbling backward into the growing crevice."_

"Oh, no!"

Oh, damn…

"_NO!' the king roared as she fell further. He reacted without another thought, his body taking over his mind. Ripping off his shirt, he plunged off the flying Escaflowne with a suicidal leap and plummeted down with her."_

OH, NOOOOO!

"_She fell, screaming, her life hanging by a tearing thread. Her vision was blacking out. Her mind and arms trying to reach for the collapsing sky… when suddenly… _

_The bright burst of white wings sprouted from the king's back."_

"WHAT? WAIT, WHAT!?" The Nurse shouted. "Hold on. I gotta read that again!"

He's got the wings.

He's got the angel wings.

You have GOT to be shitting me. THE KING is the friggin' ANGEL? OHHH, THAT'S SO STUPID! Why would she do that? Why would the author do that to someone who is so cool? The DERP KNIGHT was supposed to have them! Not the king! Ahhhh, man that sucks!

As the Nurse finished catching up back up where she left off she continued with a rushed pace.

"_The king folded his wings in, giving him more speed to reach her. His arm and hand extended, he grabbed for her. The girl couldn't look away. The vision she'd been having. The man she thought would always catch her when she fell. _

_It wasn't Knight… it was-_

'_You're… You're an angel…' she breathed, her eyes taking in his expression of relief. He held her hand tightly, pulling her into his arms. _

_In her relief and shock, the girl blacked out._

_It must have been several hours, her eyes opened to the soft wind of a nighttime sky. Her consciousness registered a loud beeping noise. Turning her head on the gravelly ground, she spied her phone lying several feet away. It hadn't been working since she arrived in this world. What was going on? As soon as she picked it up, it stopped beeping. Glancing at the screen, she felt a heat growing behind her eyes. _

_The small words scribed, 'one missed call: Amano'._

'_A-Amano…' she sobbed the name as several tears escaped down her face. 'It's… from Amano…' Holding the phone to her face, she wished more than ever she was home._

_Several white feathers flipped around her as she kept her eyes closed. Hearing footsteps behind her back, she opened her eyes and turned to see who it was._

_It was the king. His thin chest bare, his eyes sad, and his wing's spread wide into the open air. _

'_It's you…' she whispered, Amano all but slipping from her mind. The dragon Guymelef perched on the cliff behind his head, he stood still and unwavering._

_The Dragon."_

"Well," the Nurse breathed out slowly, "That was…. that. So the _king_ is the winged one? Didn't see that coming. I thought it would be Knight."

I wished it was Knight… Van thought sourly. I liked the nickname 'Dragon', but him being an angel… that's the worst.

"Did you like it?" She asked him curiously. "Your thoughts are all jumbled."

NO.

"You didn't..." the Nurse sounded sad before she let out a small laugh. "Ohhhh, I get it. You don't like that the king has wings!"

NO!

"Yes, yes that's it! You wanted him to be all manly, but now he is an angel and that's considered girly! And you don't like that!"

NO!

"You are such a liar, Mr. Fanel," she giggled. "I think the wings are really cool. He can fly!"

He could already fly with the badass dragon thingy. He didn't need 'em!

"Oh, come on, Mr. Fanel, you have to admit. It was a really good chapter!"

…yes…

"There we go!" She laughed again and Van begrudgingly felt his wounded pride for his favorite character lift. "Think about it, Mr. Fanel! He cut up a bunch of people, blew up an energist warehouse, saved the damsel in distress, and- oh, crap!" She squealed rising from her chair and snapping the book closed. "I gotta get back. I'm late. I'll see you in two days, Mr. Fanel. I hope you have a wonderful night."

Yeah… sure…

Have fun with dickhead…

Van had completely forgotten about her date with Allen and that she was taking those days off to make sure they have said date.

Nurse deserved better…

* * *

She was back outside the _Burrito _restaurant once again waiting on her date.

Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest. Sure, it wasn't his fault she was stood up last time. You can't help getting into an accident. But there was something strange about the entire event though. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She hadn't asked Mr. Fanel why he thought she shouldn't go back out with Allen… She snorted to herself in the cold air. Well, it wasn't like Mr. Fanel could say anything in complete sentences anyway. She could maybe do a yes/no questionnaire and figure out that way.

Honestly, the man probably didn't care and was just humoring her.

Anyways, there was no reason for her to be nervous now. She had talked just fine to Allen on the phone the other night… _but_ she had been in a comfortable place with Mr. Fanel. Now, she was out of her comfortable scrubs and sneakers and in a black dress with heels. She was worrying about her shade of lipstick and her hair blowing out of style in the cold wind.

She was worrying she was wasting her time standing outside this stupid restaurant she might never get to eat in!

"Hitomi!" a smooth voice called her name down the street. She turned on toe to see the tall, blond man running to her. His face alighted with happiness at the sight of her. She was reminded of the psychic girl's dream. The one with Knight and her were having their date together before the princess showed up and wrecked it. The one where it ended with a winged man, now revealed to be the king, saving her from falling.

Honestly, she didn't know how she felt about that.

"Hitomi! I am so sorry I'm a little late."

"Just a little," she mumbled inaudibly through a welcoming smile. "Just a whole twelve minutes, but who's counting?"

"The train station was killer. I have never had to use the subway since I had my motorcycle. Poor little guy will still be in the shop another week or two." He panted up to her with a charming grin. Looking her up and down with his clear blue eyes, he held out his hand for her to take. She placed her palm in his with slight reluctance. His fingers were cold.

"Thank you for agreeing to see me again."

"Its fine," she said her voice more cheerful than she felt inside. "Let's go eat! I'm starving!"

* * *

"How have you been, Mr. Fanel?" The Nurse chirped happily from the doorway. Van, who had been counting down the hours till her break time, wished he could greet her better than just a simple YES appearing on his brainwave screen. "I've been so ready to read! I don't know about you, but I'm really wondering how deep this story goes, ya know? With the king being the angel… I still can't believe it."

Despite the impatience to hear more of the story, Van was equally curious to hear how her date went. She sounded happy, but… he knew her voice pretty well now.

But… maybe he was reading much into it. There seemed to be a touch of tension as she let out a small sigh and closed the door quietly.

Of course, wouldn't be the first time in his life he had been wrong.

She sat down in the chair and the book opened. "Let's see what happened, shall we?…"

Van relaxed his mind and listened to her read. The chapter started out weird enough. For some reason, the psychic girl, who had been randomly called by her boyfriend – much like someone _else_ Van knew – caught a feather that had drifted from the king's outspread wings and she started having flashbacks or something. Just as she was beginning to see why the king had wings, the story switched to the stupid Knight. Nurse's tone was sweeter on the Knight's dialogue.

She'd probably had a good time then. Good for her.

Whatever.

Knight was on his way via airship to warn Freid of Zaibach's impending attack and the princess had run away on a boat to follow him because her sister wouldn't let her continue her random deus ex machina medical practices and she loved Knight and she's an adult and blah, blah.

Van was bored again.

Then the story came back to the girl's acid flashbacks and… it got even weirder.

"'_The Draconians…' a voice cried out in the darkness._

'_The Winged People…' another one growled. In her mind, she saw candles floating all around her. 'The descendants of Atlantis...'_

'_What Draconians?' she asked the voices with confusion spiked with fear. She saw angels flying up steps, the symbol of progress and intelligence. _

'_All who come near them die… Draconians...' The voice repeated her question. Suddenly the ground under her feet broke just as before and she began to fall. Her panic from before was not as sharp, for she knew who would catch her this time. Sure enough, he burst into her sight like a shining white star, flying down to her with wings as white as a dove."_

Welp, the king couldn't be more emasculated unless they chopped his balls off.

Van was so busy grumbling to himself, he missed the touch of affection the Nurse put into describing the king…

"_He grasped her outstretched fingers and the girl said his name in awe, 'King…'_

_A bright light engulfed her mind and she found herself standing on a tall building surveying a city. She recognized it instantly… Fanelia._

'_My lord! Don't do it!' Turning her head to the voice, the girl caught sight of a much younger Merle squatting on the rooftop next to her. 'Please, my lord!' _

_The people gathered in whispering crowds at the cat-girl's pleas. Standing in front at the edge of the rooftop, a much younger king looked back angrily to his childhood friend. "Oh, terrific, what are you saying? You're the one who wanted to see me do it, Merle!'_

'_I changed my mind! It's just too dangerous!'_

'_Don't worry. Just watch.' With a deep breath, the little prince groaned as his much smaller wings popped from his back. The people below gasped in surprise and horror at the sight and the girl gasped with them. _

"_My Lord! Don't do it!" Merle shrieked as the young boy leaped off the rooftop and spread the wings wide. _

The vision changed instantly and Van mentally rolled his eyes. Okay, author whoever you are, how could you start with the king having wings to finally telling the story of _why _he has wings to suddenly changing it to men around a camp fire complaining about wine and battle and something about the Escaflowne being there.

Man, the king was the best character out of the bunch, but dude… this sucked…

Van listened sardonically as the king's father met a woman with wings and made her his queen, no one liked that he married a Draconian or whatever she was. Skip a few years, blamo! They had two kids.

Then it switched again, much to Van's annoyance; going back, the little king was flying off the roof when blamo again! His wings cave and he starts falling to his death. His mother has to catch him because she can fly, too. Van had no idea why this backstory was really necessary when the only thing that needed to be explained was the king was a descendant of Atlantis because his mother was one.

So anywho, Mom tells the king to never show his wings unless the _time _comes (insert foreshadowing whatever the crap), then dad dies because reasons, then Stratego disappears after the dragon slaying thingy because he's a douche, then mom goes into the forest to find Stratego and disappears because reasons.

Annnnd scene.

Oh, thank god! We're back to the flying Escaflowne.

"'_Mother never returned to the castle.' The king finished quietly as he guided the flying mecha silently over the mountaintops. There was a brief hush as the girl and king flew together in silence. She sat behind him clutching his waist as support. Merle, curled up fast asleep in the control chamber, snoozed on._

'_Thank you,' the girl said hesitantly, her hands slightly trembling as she grasped his shirt. 'Thank you for telling me. And… about your wings?'_

'_Huh?' The young king turned swiftly to look at her. She was looking down, her cheeks growing with a quick blush. _

'_Don't worry. Because honestly, I think they're beautiful.' _

'_Hmph,' the king's lips rose with a small smile. 'You and Merle are probably the only ones who would say that.'_

'_What? So you're putting me and Merle on the same level? Very funny…'_

_A slow machine humming in the darkness, a pinkish hue covering the inner chamber of his lab. An old eye peaked through a scope and his anciently lined face wrinkled even further. His long white beard draped over his thin chest and tickled his knees as he leaned in further to catch the small crumble of images flickering through the eyepiece. They were too unpredictable. Too hard to calculate._

"_I can't see it…" he mumbled with dark frustration. "I can't see the future. My visions are in disarray. Syncing into chaos…' His anger ignited as yet another wavering image tossed up to the scope only to sink back down; buried and lost. 'Why won't you show me the future!?'_

_Many miles away, the pounding steps of a Guymelef could be heard through the trees. The green crystals and pink operating core slowly sliding into view from the darkness. Small animals scattered as the Escaflowne passed._

'_Hey, where are we headed?' The girl asked curiously, riding on the metal monster's shoulder._

'_The Duchy of Freid must be somewhere around here.' He answered glancing around from the control chamber._

_Suddenly, the girl felt her instincts hitch. There was something wrong. With a small gasp, she glanced around trying to find the source of her feelings. 'Wait!' she called out and the king halted mid-step._

'_What is it?'_

'_I have a bad feeling about this. I don't know what it is, but…' her face lifted to look at the two moons shining innocently in the sky through the tree tops. What was it? What was she feeling?_

'_Oh, no…' the cat-girl moaned. 'Is something there?'_

_From the sky, a scarlet phantom followed by dark shadows crossed over the star-struck heavens. An equally scarlet eye glanced through a telescope, his face falling into a crooked grin. A small spark of light from the trees. 'What's that?' he hissed under his breath._

_The girl sat up with a slice of panic and the king gasped. The sound of bending wood, snapping trees, footsteps pounding. It was everywhere…_

'_It's coming!' Merle cried._

'_King, something's out there…' the girl said._

'_Those invisible guys from Zaibach,' he answered with his eyes narrowing. The sound stopped dead. Quiet. The noiseless forest hushed in anticipation._

'_They're here… I know they're here…' the girl whispered determinedly. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on sensing them. A picture of her pink pendant flashed into her mind, the necklace slowly swinging lazily in circles. She focused, wishing, praying for the necklace's guidance; watching it glide around the trees around them. Where? Where? Where are they? Flicker… flicker… flicker… through the towering pines, she saw glimpses of their shadows peering at them. All around them. _

_Suddenly, the pendant swung toward her. 'Straight ahead!' she yelled and the king grunted as he yanked on the controls to swerve to the left. Just in time, a shot of raging fire blistered through the trees and sizzled right where they were standing._

'_Let's go! Hey, hold on tight, you two,' the king said swiftly as he released the latch and the Escaflowne's sword hissed out of its holder. _

'_To the right!' she shrieked and he dodged once more as streams of cremma claws came raging forth not a second later. Splintered trees fell around them as she gasped and pointed, 'The rear!' The king tossed the Ispano to the left and the girls screamed as more trees crushed and broke. _

'_What are you doing?' Dilandau growled at his dragon slayers. 'You're missing him!'_

'_I'm doing my best, but…'_

'_It's almost as if he can see us somehow…'_

'_Stop spouting nonsense! Just hit him, will you? But try not to kill him, okay?' _

_A target locked on the Escaflowne from the shadows._

'_Come on… where are you?' the king murmured, his reflexes twitching on the controls._

_She gasped. The girl glanced forward and knew, 'Careful, king! In front!' she instructed and screamed as the cremma claws came near. The king lifted his sword just in time to parry the claws, whipping them away._

_Dilandau saw it. He actually saw it. His men weren't lying… _

'_We're getting out of here!' the king announced and the girls screamed again as he began to run. _

'_Come back here!' Dilandau shouted waving away his stealth cloak to pursue him. Twisting into flight mode, the scarlet mecha began quickly dodging the trees, hot on the Ispano's tail. The king covered as much ground as he could, dodging left and right within the forest. Suddenly, he spotted just what he needed._

_A river."_

"A river? Why a river?" The Nurse mused.

Probably so he can see them if they use stealth cloaks, Van guessed to her – though she'd never hear him. Pretty smart move actually. They wouldn't be able to hide from him in the middle of a river.

"'_You two, hop down.' He ordered, bending on one knee. _

'_What are you going to do?' the girl asked fearfully._

'_Just do it!'_

'…_okay,' she and the cat-girl climbed clumsily down and he entered the water._

'_My Lord!'_

'_Just what's he up to…? The girl asked bewildered. Then she gasped. Grabbing the cat-girl's orange furred arm, she shouted, 'Merle! This way!' and ran to the right just in time to avoid Dilandau's hovering mecha. Dilandau transformed back into Knight frame and his men followed suit. Soon, the king was surrounded in the water. _

'_They fell for it!' the king smiled. 'Turning invisible won't do them any good here. And if I can see them…'"_

CALLED IT!

"'_Hmph,' the silver-haired boy smirked, the scar on his right cheek twitching slightly. 'Very clever…'_

_A dragon slayer attacked from his left, missing by several feet. The king roared as he twisted around and sliced off the claws. Catching his back, he met the scarlet Guymelef's blade with sparks flying. _

'_Come on! Get him!' the scarred boy shrieked. Shooting a volley of cremma claws at the king, one caught the Ispano in the leg. The scarlet's blade melted and wrapped around the Escaflowne's sword. Another shot more claws that dug into the Guymelef's helmeted face. The king's breath was uneven as he tried to move. Nothing. He was stuck._

'_It doesn't matter if you can see us or not!' Dilandau laughed._

'_Oh, no! My lord!' Merle whimpered._

_The claws were beginning to crack the hard armor. Dilandau's eyes flashed a brilliant red and he licked his lips eagerly. 'Maybe I'll just crush you right here.'_

_Above the fight, a floating fortress watched the struggle. 'The dragon slayers have captured the target!' _

'_Excellent,' Stratego said softly, 'Take us down. We'll retrieve the dragon ourselves.'_

'_Sir!' _

_Below on the banks, the two girls watched in horror. 'What do we do? They're going to capture my lord!' Merle squealed._

_Her fingers clutched to her chest, the girl's green eyes closed as she prayed: 'Somebody save the king… please… someone!' Her pendant flickered several times and then began to glow brilliantly._

'_Brother… this was meant to be…' Stratego thought determinedly. _

'_Levee ship closing in on northern quadrant.'_

'_W-What?' Stratego gasped at the announcement."_

Oh, god… Not him…

"Levee ship? No way! That's Knight, isn't it?" The Nurse's rhetorical question was full of surprise, excitement, and an underline of pride.

Pride for a fictional character you compare your dead-beat boyfriend after, Van thought sourly. It always turns stupid when he comes in the picture.

_The girl glanced up sharply and she knew. From the darkness of the sky, like a silent owl swooping for its prey, a dark grey and blue caped Guymelef floated down from a passing airship with sword drawn. _

'_It's Knight!' the girl's heart raced with joy._

_Sliding to a stop on the water's surface, the blond Knight of Caeli swiped away a dragon slayer with ease. He hopped to another… reaching closer to Dilandau…_

'_Knight…' the man hissed angrily. The grey Guymelef leapt over to the Ispano and sliced off the bindings holding him captive. _

_King straightened with relief. _

'_Well, it's very good to see you again, king,' Knight said with a smile. _

'_It's just my luck, Soldier of Caeli!' Dilandau roared his claw attacking. The Knight swiftly blocked the assault and charged to close in the gap. They met hit for hit, sparks and slaps of iron ringing in the air. As he turned with Dilandau, Knight noticed the two small figures watching from the banks._

'_It's her!' he said warmly. _

_Meanwhile, the king took on the rest of the dragon slayers; blocking, stabbing, slicing. In a fury of water and rage, he brought down one, disabling its control core and tossing it like a heap of junk to the other side of the bank. It slid, steaming and wrecked. _

'_Miguel!' Dilandau cried out, shooting his cremma claw to the king. He blocked it perfectly, scattering the claws into all different directions – one heading close to the girls. It slid out of control; the psychic girl watched as it neared, fear sticking her legs to the ground. She pushed Merle out of the way, still screaming…_

_CRUNCH_

_The world stood still as the claw retracted and a grey Guymelef stood in front of the girl; its arms protectively stretched wide. Then the mecha collapsed, a piece of the chest armor crumbling to the ground._

'_KNIGHT!' the girl screamed._

_In the control chamber of his Guymelef, Knight felt a numbing agony on his stomach. Red seeped from his clothes. 'I-I got careless…' he whispered, the blood dripping heavily._

Nurse actually squealed, "Oh, no, Knight! Is he going to die?"

He can't die; he's got plot armor on. And besides, the world isn't that kind.

_Watching with growing horror and anger, the king let out a bellow, raising his sword and charging Dilandau head on. _

_The girl ran forward, her eyes filling with tears. 'Knight? Knight, answer me! Knight!' The still mecha remained quiet. _

_From the levee ship, Knight's second gritted his teeth. 'Doesn't look good down there. He got hit real bad…'_

'_Incoming!' the levee pilot announced. A large airship surrounded by guards appeared over the trees. A Freidian Convoy Ship!_

'_That's not good…' Stratego murmured from his fortress, watching the same Convoy. 'That's enough. Dilandau, fall back now.'_

_The silver-haired boy growled as the calm voice rang in his ear: 'Some ships from Freid are approaching. If we're spotted they might catch wind of our plan.' _

'_Darn, just when it was getting interesting,' the boy hissed as he broke the stand-off with the king's blade and leapt into the air. Transforming into flight mode, he flew off into the night. King panted, watching him go, and finally noticed the floating fortress above. 'Brother…' he whispered._

'_Knight, answer me!' the girl's voice could be heard._

_Loaded onto the Convoy, Gadeth, Knight's second, grabbed his short locks in dismay as his navy eyes took in the sight of his bleeding commander. 'It's just not working! The bleeding won't stop!'_

'_What happened to him?' Several Freid soldiers asked from the doorway. _

'_We'll explain later! Call your healer!'_

'_I'm really sorry, but we're just a traineeship that makes daily runs between Rampunt and Austuria, Guitomia and Freid. We don't have a healer who can handle a deep wound like that.'_

_Standing around, the cat-girl buried her head into the king's arm as the psychic girl crouched at the Knight's bedside, her fingers laced and her eyes tear-filled. 'It's my fault. He tried to save me. Oh, Knight…' _

_His teeth were clenched; sweat dripping into his blond hair, Knight was obviously holding back his screams of agony. _

'_Gadeth? Is that you, Gadeth?' A familiar voice broke through the girl's worry. Glancing quickly, she saw a face she'd never expect to see again._

'_Princess!' Gadeth gasped."_

OH, GOD. Van groaned.

"Oh, man, why is she here?" Nurse hissed.

"_The woman's intelligent blue eyes swept the room, taking in the king, Merle, and the psychic girl. 'Well, everyone's all together, I see.' Noticing their solemn faces, she immediately turned worried. 'What's wrong? Is somebody hurt?' _

_Finally seeing tell-tale blond hair through the bodies surrounding his bed, the princess gasped and ran to his side. 'Knight! What happened? KNIGHT!' Noticing the blood seeping out of his bandage, her voice grew panicked as she turned back to Gadeth, 'Oh, dear, no! He's losing blood! Come on, Gadeth, what are you waiting for? He's not going to last much longer!'_

'_There is no healer aboard.' _

_Turning to the Convoy leader, she cried, 'Captain!' When he too turned his head away she repeated the words with almost a haze in her eyes, 'There is no healer…' _

'_Can you do it, princess?' a familiar lisp of the thief rang from the back. 'You've spent a lot of time studying medicine.'"_

ENTER the deus ex machina! Oh, how I missed you…

"'_That's right… But I've only studied out of books before. I've never-'_

'_That's okay!' the rotund man said approaching the woman. 'You want Knight to live, don't you? Only you can save him…'_

_The princess turned back to look at the wound fearfully. They waited with baited breath for a few audible moments before: _

'_I'll do it. Go bring me my blue bag, please.' She asked the thief, who procured it from around his back with a slippery smile. 'Is this it?'_

_Back at the hanger, the Zaibach soldier who had been thrown cautiously stood from his wrecked Guymelef, swords pointed from all sides. _

'_Now come out nice and slow.' _

'_If the commander dies, you're a dead man, pond scum!'_

_Knight was prepped, the surgical tools prepared, and the princess consulted her books carefully. 'I think the anesthetic has taken effect, but hold him down to keep him from thrashing around,' she said importantly while holding a scalpel. Gadeth turned pale as he gasped out, 'Y-yes, ma'am…'_

'_Oh, God, please don't let anything happen to him. Please. I'll do anything…' the girl prayed outside the door, her pendant laced around her fingers like a rosary. 'Please, make him okay again. Oh, Knight.'_

_She felt a hand drop on her shoulder and glanced up sharply to see the king's face. His black hair hanging over his encouraging mahogany eyes, his expression gave her a sliver-lining of hope. _

'_Thank you…' she whispered softly. _

_He dropped his hand, they both turned to stare at the closed door together. _

_Waiting."_

Nurse closed the book quietly and sat back. "Do you think he'll be okay, Mr. Fanel?" she asked.

YES. Van thought almost sarcastically. The guy had plot armor as thick as a brick wall. As much as he loved that the stupid Knight was wounded, he couldn't stand all the standing around and worrying. Sheesh, the king was almost kidnapped a few seconds ago! No one cared about that?

"You know what I think is going to happen?" she said hesitantly. "I think that Knight is going to flirt with the princess more, but ultimately realize his feelings for the psychic girl. The way he saved her and the way she cares about him. They are the perfect couple."

I disagree for a multitude of reasons, but here is only three off the top of my head: The first: the Knight is a dick. Second: this book's love story is stupid. Third: the king deserves some female action because he is awesome. Therefore, your logic is flawed, Nurse.

"I have only a couple more minutes before I have to head back. I'll be here tomorrow morning since I'm working a double. Oh!" she smacked something – whether her hand or forehead. "The neurologist told me that we are scheduling a new rehabilitation! Since you can hear, feel, and smell, they are going to begin trying to help you open your eyes. He's also going to give you a drop of juice on your tongue to see if you taste as well. The doctor is confident there might be a day where you just wake up some morning and you can walk and talk like you used to." She trailed off, her voice growing quiet.

"He mentioned that something seems to be holding you back from waking up properly. That you are in some kind of self-defense paralysis. Whatever is causing this…? I'm sorry. I wish I could help more. I want to help you as much as possible. You are a precious patient, Mr. Fanel."

NO. Van thought to her, a weird spark of anger igniting in him. You don't mean that.

"No…? Why did you say no?" she asked confused.

NO. You'd rather be with Allen anyway. Or should I say _real life Knight…_

"Mr. Fanel… I don't understand… You… you don't want my help?"

NO. Whatever is broken in my brain, I'll fix it on my own.

"But you _do _need help…"

NO. He only had himself.

"Mr. Fanel, please stop saying no."

He _always_ only had himself. Just like that king in the story, he'd bravely charge it with sword swinging. He was Van Slanzar de Fanel, damn it! That name used to mean something! It used to stand strong and proud. Hearing her say his name… hearing that sweet voice…

Van was so angry the machine beeping his heartbeats increased dramatically.

NO, NO, NO, NO.

She stood up briskly. Her tone sounded like she was holding back her tears. "I seemed to have made you angry and upset. That was not my intention. If you don't want me here anymore, I'll leave you. Good night. I hope you wake up soon."

It was for several hours, Van reassured himself he was right. The Nurse needed to leave him alone and let him figure out his messed up mind on his own.

It was several more after that, Van realized what an idiot he'd been.

She'd told him before: her excuse for reading in his room was her strange habit of reading out loud. But he knew the truth. He never had any visitors in the daytime. He didn't have anyone. Nurse came to see him because she knew he was alone.

Always alone.

For the first time a long time, he had someone to count on.

And he just drove her away by being a dick.

Ah, shit.

* * *

His time was up. He begged for a few more days.

Boss gave it to him with the wave of his hand.

A few more days. A few more days.

He'd do it. Just… not now. He couldn't do it now.

The silver came later that day.

* * *

"Work's doing well," Hitomi said tiredly into the phone at Allen's inquiry. "I've got two more doubles lined up, but then I'm talking another day off."

"That's excellent!" the man sounded delighted and she smiled as she pictured his charming grin. "I was just fixing to ask you if you wanted to spend your next free day with me."

"Don't you have work or something?" she asked confused. "It's a Thursday."

"For you, babe, I'll be there anytime."

_Well, that's kind of a lie_. She thought to herself scornfully. Shaking her head and taking the flirty comment, she let out a small giggle and said, "I'm excited! I'd love to spend a day with you."

"Then the next time I see your beautiful face is Thursday. I've got to run though. Call you later?"

"Yes," she said still giggling.

As the phone call disconnected, her smile slipped immediately off her face and she tucked the phone back into her scrubs. Standing outside Mr. Fanel's door, she closed her eyes determinedly before opening it.

* * *

YES. Van instantly said as soon as he heard the door open. His heart monitor increased just a few degrees.

"Hello, Mr. Fanel," she sounded weary. The door shut quietly and he heard her sit in the chair. "I wanted to apologize."

NO.

"Yes, I need to."

NO.

"I shouldn't have acted like that. I don't know how it feels to be you, Mr. Fanel. I don't know how it feels to be trapped in there. I can only imagine how painful it is and how hard you've worked to get this far. You've really done it all on your own.

NO. You've helped, Nurse. I was a dick!

"No, I haven't helped. I just make sure you are comfortable and occasionally check your vitals and read to you sometimes. This entire battle has been your own. And to selfishly imply that I had any part in your struggles… your achievements… I have felt horrible ever since I left your room the other day."

NO. YES. NO.

Van didn't have any other form of communication and it was so frustrating.

"Do you forgive me?"

YES.

"Do you still want me to read to you?"

HELL YES.

The brilliant smile was unseen, but Van felt it. He felt it radiating through the room. Her relieving happiness washed over him like a sixth sense.

Not for the first time, Van wished he could see her face with his eyes. He could see what that smile looked like.

"Let's keep going then, Mr. Fanel." That smile hadn't left and permeated her voice.

She was practically glowing.

YES.

"'_They sure have been in there a long time,' One of the crew members murmured through the quiet gloomy faces waiting outside the healer's quarters._

'_Yeah,' another one answered darkly. 'Boss' strong. He ain't gonna die.'_

'_Yeah, you're right,' yet another crew member said reassured. _

_They were all encouraging themselves._

_The girl held her necklace, wishing, 'Oh, Knight,' she breathed. _

_She looked up sharply as the door opened and the princess stepped out. Her beautiful face looked tired, but she had a small smile on her lips. _

'_The operation was successful.'_

'_So Knight's okay then?' the king asked tensely._

'_Yes, but he's still unconscious from the anesthetic.' With that said, the princess dropped to her knees in fatigue. As the men rushed around the princess, the psychic girl looked past to see Knight's still body lying on the operation table. His long blond hair pushed away to hang like a curtain over the back of the table. Her eyes turned away to see the men putting the princess to bed. Once that was done, the king turned to Knight's crew, 'It's a good thing the princess was here,'_

'_We'll also be able to get into Freid pretty easily because of her.' Gadeth said. _

'_Why?' the king asked._

'_The princess' older sister, Marlene, was married off to their ruler.'_

'_Princess Marlene?' _

'_Yeah, Austuria's eldest princess. She got sick and died three years ago leaving a young son behind. The Prince of the Duchy of Freid.'"_

"But I thought Knight and Marlene were in love. That's what their other sister said. That he was just comparing her younger sister to her and that's why he was attracted to Princess. Marlene was married to Freid's ruler? That's confusing."

All I know is that Aston king had too many daughters. No wonder he's bonkers.

"_A gong sounded; a line of monks and servants bowed. The princess, the king, and Gadeth kneeled on the carpeted stone floor respectfully as a voice announced, 'The Third Princess of Austuria has arrived.'_

'_You must be tired from you long journey. The Duke is currently making an inspection around the realm, so I welcome you in his place. ' a soft voice echoed from in front of the trio. Sitting on the throne was a young boy with wavy blond hair and brilliantly clear blue eyes. _

'_Chid?' the princess smiled, lifting her head. 'Is that you, Chid?'_

'_Yes, it's so wonderful to see you again, Auntie.' Chid's blue eyes focused from his aunt's face to the Fanelian King kneeling to her right. He glanced down at a glimmering gold ring on his finger._

'_You've grown so much, Prince Chid, I hardly recognized you. You were still small the last time I saw you.'_

'_Auntie, I understand that the Knight of Caeli arrived with you. Is that him next to you?' He asked motioning to the king with a small hand. The king looked up surprised. 'When she was alive, mother told me many stories about him. She said that the Knight of Caeli was the greatest swordsmen in Gaea and that he could be found in Austuria. The Invincible Knight. The Gallant Guymelef Pilot. I've always hoped to meet him.'_

'_Highness,' a large man sitting on the other side of the king piped up gently, 'You are mistaken. This is the reigning King of Fanelia.' The king put his arm over his chest respectfully as the boy's face fell with childish disappointment. _

'_Oh, I understand… My deepest heartfelt apologies, Fanelia. I most heartedly welcome you to Freid. Please feel free to think of my country as your own.'_

_The king was both surprised and impressed by the boy's natural charm and courtly grace. 'Thank you, I am most sincerely grateful to have Freid's friendship.'_

Okay, this was boring again. As much as Van loved when the book got political (hint the sarcasm), the book's never ending scenes of courtly manners was almost as bad as the romance.

Almost.

Tuning out a bit, Van got that the prince went and saw Knight and was disappointed because his mother was always telling stories about how invincible Knight was and Knight was hurt. Blah, blah.

Briefly, Van wondered if this Duchy of Freid guy was blond haired and blue eyed like his son. It would be an interesting twist if he wasn't. Knight? Praised by Marlene? Who just so happens to have a blond haired blue-eyed kid?

Moving right along, the Knight wakes up, notices that same weird ring on Chid's finger for some reason, and then announces that Zaibach is going to attack Freid.

Collective gasps, the king defends the Knight, and they decide to interrogate the Zaibach soldier that got kidnapped. Finally, some violence! As Van passively listened in, the scene switched to the floating fortress. Oh, well, better than Knight drama:

"_The fortress glided over a large pasture as the sun began to set. Inside, two figures sat together, wine in each glass. 'The dragon has fled the field.' Stratego muttered from his cloak._

'_Hmph, do tell.' Dilandau smirked. _

'_Along with their prisoner,' the metal armed man raised an eyebrow._

'_There's nothing to worry about.' Dilandau said confidently. 'You see, Miguel is one of my men, he would sooner die than talk.'_

'_Perhaps,' Stratego's dark red eyes narrowed. 'But don't forget that Freid has Plaktu.'_

_The younger boy snorted. 'Who's that?'_

'_Plaktu is a priest who is a master of hypnotic suggestion. He can use those techniques to extract information from the deepest recesses of the mind. It's been confirmed that that he's already on his way to Goteshem.'_

'_This is not acceptable! We have to kill him before he reaches the castle! He's ruin our plans! _

_The dark man closed his eyes and hissed, 'Zongi...' _

'_Huh? What did you say?' _

_Behind the boy's silver head, an entire body slid into view from out of thin air. 'Urgh, what's that smell?' Dilandau groaned closing his nose tightly with his hand. Noticing a face appear over his shoulder, he screamed and jumped from his chair. _

_A man with pointed feature bowed low, his long crusted locks drifting over his shoulder. All over his chest and back were lined purple tattoos. His thin, long arms and large hands were unnaturally disproportioned. _

'_But he's a doppelganger!' The boy cried shrilly. _

_Ignoring Dilandau, Stratego addressed the man, 'I have a task for you, Zongi.' _

'_Ahhhh, what is your wish?' Zongi's guttural throat hissed out. Opening his eyes, they shined an emerald green on the cloaked man. 'I live to serve you, Stratego.'_

_That night, standing on a balcony of the castle, the psychic girl was watching the two moons shinning in the sky. _

'_Hey,' a soft womanly voice spoke out._

'_Oh, princess,' the girl said in greeting turning to the newcomer._

'_That's right. Look, I think you forgot this.' Holding up a bag, the girl recognized it as the same one that she'd brought with her from her world. _

'_That's my duffel bag!' she said with relief. Stepping closer, she took the bag gratefully. 'But, how did you know I'd be here?'_

'_I don't know. I suppose I had a feeling we'd meet again,' the princess smiled beautifully. 'It seems we'll be spending time together. So, let's be friends, okay?'_

'_Women's intuition…?' the girl sighed, looking at her bag."_

"I still wouldn't trust her."

YES.

"_The scarlet Guymelef perched precariously on the edge of the cliff, watching a silent ship glide closer and closer to Freid's borders. _

'_That's the ship alright. I think I can take it out in one single shot.'_

'_At your discretion, Lord Dilandau,' Zongi announced, draped in a dark red cloth. The doppelganger was standing perfectly balanced on the mecha's cremma claw gun. _

'_Alright! I'll let you know!' the boy snapped back, initiating his stealth cloak to cover. As the man tossed off his red robe, Dilandau snarled, 'I can't believe he's using a doppelganger!' Raising his gun, he shot out a starter claw and Zongi jumped easily onto it. Like an arrow, the claw whistled through the air and stopped only a few feet from the ship itself before slipping instantly back into the claw's holster. Zongi, on the other hand, had moved quickly; jumping from the claw to the ship itself. Once there, he melted into the ship and out of sight. With the job done and the ship passing out of sight, Dilandau disengaged his stealth cloak and hissed, 'You've got weird taste, Stratego…'_

A buzz sounded from her pocket and she was startled from reading. "It's a text message, Mr. Fanel." She told him gently checking her phone. "Millerna just wants to know if I can work tomorrow morning as well. It looks like Yukari might have the flu."

That actually worried Van a bit. Considering how much this Nurse was here, she was probably pulling doubles right and left. How did she have that much stamina? She spent her break times reading to him when she should be resting, right?

His thoughts unheard, she continued the story. The scene had switched from a potential assassination of one of the most skilled interrogators on the planet to the Princess and Knight talking about the reason why he left Austuria.

UGGggggGGGHhhhHHHhhh…. So boring…

Then it switched to the king and the girl getting up at the crack of dawn for some reason. This must be interesting…

"'_You've been able to point out those invisible Guymelefs. You've got to show me how to do it. How to locate an invisible opponent.' The king's fists were crunched and he felt his face heat up in embarrassment. Pushing his pride to the side, he said, 'Please. I can't defeat them if I can't see them.'_

_Taken by surprise, she saw his honesty and stuttered, 'O-O-okay.'"_

The scene dropped there.

Really? That's it?

But it went to the Plaktu guy, so Van stopped inwardly complaining.

"_Plaktu sat with his mind was sharp, his senses sharper. He felt the carpet underneath his leg, the candle still and quiet. He breathed through his tan chest and heard his heart pulse the blood through his body. Likewise, he noticed the left and right sway of the airship. He was a man of power. A man of skill. A man of-_

_The candle went out._

_His eyes opened and he stood with bare feet. His opponent was there. He was in the room. _

'_An assassin…' he whispered. 'You're pretty good to get in here without me noticing it, but you will not' –the man brought up his hands for meditation and protection – 'beat me that easily…' Zongi materialized within an instant and snatched the man's bald head into his leathery hands. Plaktu coward before his devilish adversary; his mind shattering in his fear. The doppelganger opened his mouth to swallow the man's soul._

_And take his form. _

'_Yes, excellent. This is an excellent body.' Zongi hissed with a growling laugh through tan lips. Lifting a thin hand, he flexed the fingers and smiled._

_Back at Freid, the sun was finally beginning to show over the horizon. Down in the gardens, three figures were already wide awake. _

'_Picture what you want to find in your mind. That's all there is to it.' The girl said simply, holding out her pendant. 'When you sense what you're looking for the pendant swings in that direction. With practice, you can do it just by picturing the pendant in your mind.' _

_The king listened curiously, his mouth slightly open in awe. Closing it with a quick swallow, he asked, 'Well, what should I look for?'_

'_Good question…' she said thoughtfully, looking around. _

'_FOR ME! FOR ME!' Merle shrilled, jumping up between them to point the attention at herself. 'You guys can look for me, my lord.' With that declaration, she took off into the shrubs with a giggle. _

'_Okay, I'll try…' the king sighed. _

_Above them, Chid watched with confusion, turning to his large advisor, Boris, he asked, 'What do you think they're doing?'_

'_Who knows?' the jolly man shrugged._

'_My lord's going to find me. I just know he will,' the cat-girl whispered proudly._

_The girl watched the king close his eyes and said softly, 'Picture her in your mind. Clear your mind and concentrate as hard as you can. You're doing fine. Just make the image clear. Wait until you see her. Those long pointy ears. The tail. That curly hair. Those really big eyes. That obnoxious personality. That big mouth. And what's with that nose?' _

_Merle's fur was raised as she hid, 'That's it! I'm going to use her as a scratching post!' she snarled, claws extending. _

'_Gah, I can't! It's not working!' the king shook his head frustrated. _

'_You can't give up yet! It may not work the first time, but anyone can do it with practice. Now just watch…' the girl raised the pendant and cleared her mind of all thought. The pendant swirled in a small circle, waiting for the target - and suddenly it swung behind her-_

'_THERE!' she pointed confidently to the west. _

_The cat-girl blushed with anger and gasped, 'Yeah, like I'm going to stand up…'_

'_MERLE!' the king called out. _

'_Here I am, my lord! You found me!' she cried happily, jumping up right where the girl was pointing. _

_Hearing clapping in a distance, both young adults turned to see the prince walking down the steps into the garden. 'Amazing!' the little boy cheered. 'That was incredible! How did you know where she was?'_

'_Well-I-uhh…' the girl blushed._

_Merle shoved in the way and almost knocked her over. 'Don't pay any attention to her, Highness, she's just a fortuneteller that's all. The way she tells people about their past and future. She's waaaay too creepy.' The king stood dumbfounded as the two girls started up their usual banter._

'_Cut it out, Merle!' the girl finally yelled as the cat wiggled her arms scarily._

'_Is it true?' the boy gasped, stopping the girls from their usual antics. 'Can you really predict the future?'_

'_Let's see, how can I explain this…?' Feeling shy, she said blushing, 'When I do a reading, it's like I can see it.'_

'_That's amazing!' the boy said again. 'Not even Plaktu can predict the future like that.'_

'_O-oh…'_

'_Hey, do you think you can predict my future for me?' _

'_I-don't know…'_

'_Oh, please! Please, please!' the boy's bright blue eyes were so meltingly beautiful. He looked up at her with such excitement. She had to give in. _

'_Sure. I'll do my best.' She smiled as his face turned ecstatic. _

'_Boris!' a man called out, dropping to a bow panting, 'We have just received word that Plaktu has arrived in port.'_

'_Ahh, excellent, shall we go, Your Highness.'_

'_Of course,' the young boy's back straightened and he was once more the courtly host. _

_The king frowned as he watched the boy leave. There was something about that boy. _

_Something that he just couldn't put his finger on."_

That the prince is Knight's love child?

"What does the king sense?" Nurse questioned out loud.

That the prince is Knight's love child, Van repeated to her with amusement. Bah, never mind, you'll figure it out later, I'm sure.

"_Sitting on the throne, the young prince dipped his blond head in greeting to the bald interrogator. 'Thank you for coming. I'm counting on you.'_

_Plaktu bowed, his long fingers motioning the meditational signs of peace and tranquility underneath his pointed chin. 'I will take care of it.'_

_Joining the large advisor Boris, Plaktu confidently strolled to the dungeons where the Zaibach prisoner was being held. Following the torches lining the stone walls, the bald man said, 'Boris, I'd like to be left alone with the prisoner if you please.'_

'_But-' he began and was cut off sharply as Zongi – impersonating Plaktu – flicked the hand signs of complacency over the man's eyes. The doppelganger's eyes changed to turquoise as he invoked the ancient spell and Boris' mind was dulled. _

_Satisfied, Plaktu walked on alone._

_Upon approaching the cell, the young soldier looked up quickly. _

'_You must be Miguel…' Plaktu's low voice echoed._

'_How did you know my name?' The boy's eyes lit with realization. 'I suppose Strateo sent you.'_

_Plaktu's mouth stretched into an unnaturally wide smirk." _

Okay, okay, where are the soldiers? Who is guarding this guy? Is he just sitting in a cell for anybody to just come up and talk to? Did this Zongi/Plaktu guy put a spell on everyone?

This book jumps way too much sometimes.

"'_I brought you dinner, Knight. Now you should eat a lot to get better quickly.' Princess instructed briskly upon entering his room."_

Point proven!

"'_Princess,' he said solemnly._

'_Yes, Knight?'_

'_Could you please ask the girl to come to me?'"_

_The blond princess took a quick breath and tried to hide her surprise and hurt."_

"Oh, man! He shot the princess down!" Nurse cheered.

"'_A strange woman, you say…?' Zongi asked narrowing Plaktu's dark eyes thoughtfully._

'_That's right,' the Zaibach soldier confirmed. 'My Guymelef was invisible but I could see she was pointing straight at me.'_

'_Hmmm… I understand. Just leave the woman to me, Miguel.'_

'_Well, are you going to get me out of here?' the boy demanded._

'_No,' lifting a folded finger, Zongi invoked another spell. 'I have a little job for you…'_

_Opening the door to the dungeon, Plaktu released Boris from his enchantment and the man looked around bewildered. _

'_Boris.'_

'_I-what-what happened?' he grunted, looking around._

'_The prisoner is ready.'_

'_Oh,' Boris swallowed, still trying to get his bearings. _

'_Plaktu,' a little voice echoed down the hall. It was Prince Chid. 'I would like to observe the questioning.'_

_As the group came up to the prisoner, his young eyes were folded into a white daze. 'He is already under hypnosis,' Plaktu announced. 'Ask your questions.'_

'_Very well,' Boris nodded. 'What is your name, Zaibach soldier?'_

'_It's Miguel. It's Miguel Lavilere.'_

'_Just what were you doing alone on our boarder?'_

'_I was tracking down a rebel at Austuria's request.'_

_Chid's mouth dropped and Boris murmured darkly, 'A rebel… Just who is it?'_

'_It's a man who planned to overthrow Austuria with the help of Fanelia's King: Knight, the Soldier of Caeli.'"_

Holy shit!

"What a bunch of crap!"

"_Chid gasped and took several steps back, 'No, not Knight!'_

'_No, it's not true! I won't believe it, you little scoundrel' Boris roared. _

_Behind his back, Plaktu's dark eyes shined gleefully. _

'_But it's absolutely true.'_

'_Knight turned you over to us!'_

'_Because he promised he'd spare my life if I lied to you.'_

'_Lie?'_

'_He told me to lie to make Austuria and Freid fight. He'd take advantage in the confusion and make himself King of Austuria.' _

'_What are you saying?' Boris roared, his thick hands clinging to the iron bars of the cell._

'_No!' Chid cried. 'He has to be lying! It's a lie! IT'S A LIE!'_

_Back at Knight's room, the psychic girl sat down awkwardly near Knight's bed and stuttered, 'A-A reading?'_

'_That's right,' Knight said softly, sitting up with a groan. 'For the Zaibach soldier we took prisoner.'_

'_You don't believe in that stuff?' Princess scoffed._

'_Uh-huh,' Knight nodded with a smile to the girl. _

'_Thanks, Knight…' the girl said with a touch of a blush. _

_The dungeon echoed with Boris' loud voice. 'Emergency stations! Dispatch the royal guard! Keep an eye on the prisoner!' _

_Behind his head, Plaktu smiled. _

_She drew a card and folded it over in the Celtic Cross. '…danger… conflict…' she murmured. Moving her finger to the card above, she said, 'This suggests tension and this' – she pointed below the cross – 'is the warrior of dragons. I think that it must mean king.' _

_She paused._

'_Go on,' the princess said with a slight condescension clipping her voice. _

'_Yes, go on,' the Knight said interested._

_She moved her finger left to right. 'World… and… death…' she gasped slightly. 'A great power is guiding everything towards an end, so that everything can be reborn.'_

'_The end of everything? That's what Zaibach's after?'_

'_And the prisoner…' the girl drew the top card and blinked. 'The spare card? B-but I always take that out before I start.' _

_Showing the Knight, he frowned. 'So why a blank card?' His blue eyes suddenly widened. _

'_Oh, no!'_

_Escaping the dungeon by hiding in the shadows, Miguel snuck up behind the deck holder and clocked him square in the jaw. Panting and sweating, he stood triumphant before his Guymelef. _

'_I hope it's still functional.'_

_Meanwhile, supported by princess and the girl, Knight found himself surrounded by royal guard soldiers. _

'_Where do you think you're going?' One of the guards jaunted._

'_Wait, Boris! What is the meaning of all this?' Knight demanded as the young prince emerge from behind his tall advisor. 'Highness?'_

'_Knight… I can't believe that you're a traitor. WHY?'_

'_A traitor?' the princess repeated bewildered._

_The young boy turned away obviously holding back tears. _

'_Prince Chid…' Knight whispered in shock. _

'_Boris, sir!' a soldier came running to the advisor. 'The prisoner has escaped!'_

'_WHAT?' _

'_I don't believe it… it's just as the cards said!' princess gasped._

_The Zaibach Guymelef, sparks flying, stood shakily. 'Great! It's working! And the stealth cloak works too,' Miguel sighed in relief. Smashing the Freidian men below, he never noticed a tall thin man watching him from a building rooftop. _

'_Witless,' Zongi hissed. 'He should just escape. There are no accounting people without brains.'"_

God, where is the king in all of this? Van thought annoyed.

"_Miguel glanced up as a shadow passed over his head. His eyes widened to focus on a dragon silhouette."_

Ah, spoke too soon.

"_The Fanelian king piloted the Dragon closer and saw him, 'The Zaibach Guymelef!' he announced zeroing in for a dive attack. Miguel dodged just in time to avoid the Escaflowne's claws. Spinning back, the king dived in for another round. The Zaibach soldier raised his cremma claw, but the cannon hissed._

'_Oh, great, there's not enough pressure.' _

_The Escaflowne changed to Knight frame in mid-air and the Zaibach Guymelef backed away to fade with his stealth cloak. _

'_Oh, no!' the king gasped. 'You trying to disappear again!? Not this time!' Grabbing his sword from the hilt, the Ispano sliced where the Guymelef had vanished, smashing rock and brick. _

'_The Guymelef disappeared…' a soldier stood shaking watching the ferocious battle. _

'_Send out the Melef Unit!' Another one barked behind him._

_The king raised his blade, his dark eyes searching frantically. 'Where is he?' he growled. 'Where is he hiding…?' Behind the king's back, hidden safely in his cloak, Miguel smirked, 'I knew it! Without that woman to help him, he can't see through the stealth cloaks!'_

_Stopping, the king stood still. 'Where is he going to attack from?' Remembering the training session he had with the girl earlier that morning, he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, 'I've got to try…' _

_Lowering the sword's point to the ground, he started with the first step… clearing his mind._

'_What's he up to…' Miguel whispered, watching the king's passive stance confused. 'It's no matter. If I can kill him Lord Dilandau will have to forgive me for being taken prisoner by the enemy.'_

_The king repeated her words out loud, focusing, 'Concentrate on what you want to find…' _

_He heard her voice echo in his mind: 'If you concentrate on it, you'll be able to see it!' _

_Miguel raised his cremma claw, readying the projectile. 'If I focus all my liquid metal into one claw I can take him. Total annihilation…'_

'_Come on… where is it… where is the Zaibach Guymelef…?' His mind flickered a vision of the pendant and he twitched. Steadying a breath, he pictured harder… the necklace swinging back and forth, back and forth…_

'_BEHIND ME!' He roared."_

THE KING IS SO AWESOME! Van hailed.

"'_DIE!' Miguel shouted, releasing the claw. _

_As the projectile traveled to the king's back, the Escaflowne turned on foot and simultaneously dodged the claw and sliced off the Guymelef's arm. _

'_I don't believe it!' he shrieked._

_With a roar escaping his mouth, the king sliced his sword down, cutting the enemy Guymelef completely in half. It burst into flames, falling like scrap to the ground. The king watched the Zaibach solder leap from the Guymelef just in time and limp off into the alleyway. _

'_Huh? Oh, no you don't!' he snarled about to head after him. When suddenly, he could no longer move._

_Grappling claws dug into the Ispano's gears. All around him soldiers pointed javelins and Freid Guymelefs held tight to his bindings. 'What are you doing?' he yelled. 'What the hell's going on?'_

_Miguel, his leg flayed and bleeding, leaned against a wall. 'I can't get out of here hurt like this.' He grunted with pain. 'What do I do?' Behind his head, a white large hand slowly glided towards his neck. His breath caught as his windpipe crushed in the strong, unrelenting fingers. No one noticed the struggling legs._

_And at last, he was still._

'_My apologies,' Zongi's guttural voice broke from the shadows. 'But I can't let anyone know about me.' He looked at the trapped White Guymelef with a feeling that had not touched his soul in many, many years. 'The power to see the unseen… I must make sure…'_

_She was in the dungeon. This was all happening too fast. The girl watched princess being dragged away, screaming for Chid to listen to her, to understand. _

'_Prince Chid,' she whispered, standing up to hold the bars. Beside her, Knight sat still, his blue eyes cast to the ground. The young boy approached the cell, his young voice hard. 'I have always respected you because of what mother said about you. It's very unfortunate. It was all lies.' Knight looked up as Chid turned away. 'My mother told me nothing but lies about you, Knight of Caeli.'_

'_Prince Chid…' Knight said the child's name gently. 'Tell me, have you ever believed in someone with your whole heart? Sometimes it takes more courage to believe in someone than to fight and dismiss them so easily. Highness, do you understand the meaning of that kind of courage?'"_

Wooooow… just… I… I don't even think that made any _sense_…

"He's so sensitive…" Nurse sighed softly.

_The girl's back straightened as she looked between the two; a realization dawning before her. _

_Adult and child. _

_Knight and prince. There was something between the two of them. _

_A connection._

Yeah, no duh.

The book closed and Nurse sat back. "A connection, huh? Wonder what it is?"

Oh, come on, Nurse! Van thought to her exasperated. I hardly pay attention to most chapters and I am 100% positive they are father and son.

"I guess that's a mystery for another day, Mr. Fanel." She had a smile on her voice.

As she left for the night and Van settled in for sleep, he snorted an inward laugh.

He… actually found it kind of cute she couldn't figure it out.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Allen. My friend, Yukari – you met her on New Year's Eve - it looks like she caught the flu. I told Millerna I'd take the day shift on Thursday to help her. I'm still free Thursday evening though."

"Oh, no need to be sorry at all, sweet Hitomi. I completely understand you have responsibilities and of course, I hope your friend gets to feeling better. We should hang out with her sometime when she is back on her feet."

She smiled. "You are always so understanding."

"As are you. I'm the one who ruined that first date, remember? There are always kinks to work out in a relationship."

"_Relationship!_" Hitomi squeaked, almost dropping her cellphone in surprise. Her heart felt like it jumped into her throat.

"Yes, sweet girl, a relationship. We are in one, right?"

Her free hand began to fiddle with a nearby pen resting on the Nurse's station. "We… we just never discussed it and we've only been on one date really-"

"I'd like to say we've been on three," he countered easily. "The first being New Years, the second was that phone call that lasted for three hours, and the third was the other night."

"Phone calls are considered dates?" she asked, trying to hide her panic.

"What's the matter? You don't want to be in a relationship with me?"

"No, I mean… I-I don't know! It all just seems so fast suddenly." Her face was hot. Her legs were trembling.

"We don't have to be in one. I just assumed that-"

"No, no, no, please, don't misunderstand, Allen. I like you. I just have to get to know you a little bit more. I'd _like _to get to know you more."

There was a brief pause before he warmly replied, "That's what Thursday will be about then."

"Thursday night," she reminded. "And make sure you're there this time!"

"Oh, I'll be there."

* * *

Nurse was happy.

She plopped down with chipper, "Evening, Mr. Fanel!" before opening the book to the next chapter.

Van wondered what had happened.

"_As the sun set over Castle Freid, deep in the dungeons, the torches flickered in the darkness. _

'_Hey! Let us out of here!' Knight's crew bellowed from their cell. Their protests mingled into an angry garble of words that just bounced raucously off the stone walls. _

'_Just shut up, you! Behave yourselves!' a soldier barked at the caged men. They quieted for only a moment before starting up once more – this time with intermingling death threats. _

_The girl passed their cell, her green eyes downcast. Behind her the guardsman huffed, 'Like a bunch of animals… Well, little lady, you better not show your true colors when your with Plaktu.'_

_She glanced up and saw barred doorway. The guard opened the door and pushed her violently through. Stumbling slightly, her mouth fell open as she looked at the various carvings on the walls. Hugging herself with her arms, she shivered at the blank statue faces that looked down at her with empty eyes. It was so silent. So eerie. _

'_Strange place…' she muttered. Sensing someone behind her, she gasped, 'Prince Chid!'_

_The little boy's pale face was solemn as he looked out at her from behind steel bars. To protect the royalty from criminals. This was absurd!_

'_Your Highness, tell me what you really think? Do we look like rebels to you? Do we look like the kind of people who would lie?'_

_The boy's hand tightened on the bars that separated them. 'I… well, I don't really know, but I'm positive Plaktu's magic will bring out the truth.'_

'_Have faith in us, Prince,' she smiled gently. _

'_I'm…' his voice faltered before gaining strength. Straightening his small shoulders, he tried to fall back into his courtly manners. 'I'm the prince of this country. Our tradition is that the royal family follows Plaktu's advice. It's what's best for my country and my people.'_

'_You and your country…' she said softly. 'You sound just like the King of Fanelia…'_

'_May we begin?' A deep voice echoed from behind her head and she gasped as she laid eyes on the tall bald monk. Plaktu looked down at her, his fingers folded in signs of meditation at his chest. 'It's time for your interrogation.'_

_The king was furious. 'Why are you starting with her? She's got nothing to do with this! Don't you understand!?' _

'_Well, it stands to reason that you've done nothing wrong then it doesn't matter who goes first.' Boris' broad shoulders drew back defensively. _

_The king grasped the bars of his cell hard in his hands. 'But Zaibach might attack while you're wasting your time on this!' _

_Knight, still weak, stumbled to his feet with the help of Merle. 'Look, Boris, I hope you believe us because we came here to tell you the truth._

'_Surely, you must understand the grave situation you are in, Knight.'_

_The princess stood silently beside the advisor, her face filled with apprehension._

'_What do you mean?' the king demanded._

'_A massager arrived from Austuria a while ago. He came to inform us that there is a price on your head and on your Escaflowne.' _

_The king blinked in surprise, his words tangling in his throat._

'_They've been fooled,' Knight said to him._

'_Please listen to me! Knight is no liar! Believe me!' The blond princess finally spoke up. _

'_Princess,' the man Boris said staring at her hard in the eye, 'there is but one truth: All will be clear when Plaktu is done with his interrogation.'_

_The girl sat before her interrogator, her body calm, her mind at ease. _

'_Earth? Is that the name of your homeland?' Plaktu asked quietly as a plate of heavy incense burned in front of him. He was sweating slightly. She had fallen under the hypnosis, but there was something wrong… something different about her. _

_Still, she should answer the questions just fine…_

'_Yes,' she said lifelessly, staring into his face. _

'_Where is this country?'_

'_The Mystic Moon high in the sky.'_

'_The Mystic Moon?' he growled. 'Are you trying to tell me you are from the Mystic Moon?'_

'_Yes.'_

_Boris and Chid gasped audibly. _

'_She's from that accused place?' Boris asked sharply._

'_Is that true?' Chid turned to his aunt. _

'_Um… I guess…' she murmured._

'_We were told that you launched a sneak attack against a Zaibach floating fortress and destroyed an energist mine as well. Is that true? Well, answer me!'_

_She was silent, still staring unblinkingly into his face. Plaktu crossed his pointed fingers and pushed against the strange unknown barrier that had started growing strong in her mind. _

'_What's the answer!?'_

'_Yes,' she finally said. _

'_Hold on! Ask her why they did it!' The princess spoke up. _

'_It was obviously part of their plan to take over Austuria! The prisoner has said as much!' Boris argued back. _

_Plaktu crossed his pointed fingers again over the wavering incense and fought to gain more ground on her mind. The barrier she had was strong. 'Now you tell me how you discovered the location of the fortress and the mine,' he demanded._

'_Dowsing with…' she reached up to her neck to touch her necklace. '…pendant…'_

'_Dowsing?'_

'_Using my mind to see things…'_

_Zongi narrowed Plaktu's eyes. That mysterious power… 'And this is how you saw the invisible Guymelefs?'_

'_Yes.'_

_This was probably the source of her power! The necklace was the key! _

'_Hand it over! Give me the necklace, little girl!' _

_She obeyed instantly, reaching up to pull the necklace over her head. Holding it out, Plaktu had barely touched the chain before the room exploded with a burning light. He screamed, closing his eyes as the white light burned at his eyes. Her barrier grew, a wave of power, to cover him, sinking the interrogation room into a fierce blackness. _

_Plaktu stood alone, lost. _

'_Where am I?'_

_And she was there. Her eyes still vacant, but her barrier holding him captive, she lifted a hand and pointed; 'Now I can see it. Your true form…' _

_The Plaktu he was wearing melted away. Zongi's wild tattoos and leathery skin was all that was left. 'My spell…' he hissed. 'Did you do this, girl?'_

_On the outside, the princess cried out, 'Oh, no! What's happening?' Before them sat the girl, her arm frozen outstretched and Plaktu, his fingers barely touching the chain, his face caught in an expression of agony._

'_Boris, what's happening?' Chid asked the large man. _

'_I… really don't know…' he confessed._

'_Let me out of here, girl!' Zongi snarled, advancing on her threateningly. Suddenly, the image of him taking over Plaktu's body flashed through his mind. 'That's…impossible… That's what happened when I-'_

'_You are a murderer,' she said, still pointing lifelessly at him. 'You are a doppelganger. You have countless faces, but none of them are your own…' her face mutated into his old elder. 'For we live in battle and we die in battle… Such is the fate that our clan is cursed to bear…'_

_He tried not to think it. Tried not to go back to that place, but the girl was a demon. She led the vision straight to his hell. The battlefield where the fire raged and the blood turned the soil red. Where he sliced through an enemy… and the body transformed into his worst nightmare. _

'_Brother…No… Brother…'_

_It switched to a blinding white, where his silhouette was bowed before the only one who accepted him for who he was. Stratego._

'_Do you curse this world?' he asked. 'Do you curse your fate? That you were born to be a killer and are only truly alive in battle?' The man bent, touching the doppelganger on the shoulder. Such affection was never shown in his clan. 'Zongi, come with me. Break free of the terrible chains that bind your people.'_

_The doppelganger looked up surprised and grasped onto the man's cloak as if it were a lifeline. _

'_Stratego…'_

_All this Zongi saw. His past playing before his eyes like a screen and as the scene faded, he focused on the girl once more. 'This is your power? But now… now that you know my secret, I can't possible let you li-' He gasped as a liquid metal scraped and clawed its way up his leg. It moved on to his thigh, his waist, his chest._

'_Wa-What are you doing?'_

'_I can't help it, but your life will be snuffed out…' she said blankly."_

"This book has taken a turn for the creepy…" Nurse shuddered.

This Mystic Moon chick is pretty hard core though. Van chimed in.

"'_No, it won't!' Zongi shouted fighting against the liquid._

'_It's going to happen very soon…' Her eyes stared as the doppelganger crawled closer and closer, struggling with all his might against his fate. She gasped as her mind snapped out of the hypnosis and Zongi latched snatched her arm. _

'_Girl! I am never going to die!' he shrieked. _

_The liquid covered his head and moved on to her body. It engulfed her quickly. 'What's happening? Stop! STOP!' She screamed. 'STOOOOOP!' It traveled to her neck, to her chin, over her head._

_And then-_

_It squeezed, blood streaming out of the holes."_

"I… I can't… she didn't _die, did she?_" Nurse gasped.

Plot armor! Plot armor! The girl has an insane amount of plot armor!

"_Her chilling scream sent a cold shock down everyone's spine. It echoed throughout the dungeon. _

_The king straightened up with a jolt, his head snapping to where they had taken her away._

_Inside the chamber, the girl fell over like a corpse, her pendant wrapped loosely around her still fingers. The princess, prince, and advisor all gasped. Plaktu, still alive, had backed all the way into a corner and was wheezing._

'_That little girl… she's a complete monster!' he cried. The three advisors ran over. Immediately, princess dropped to her knees before the comatose girl and checked for her vitals. _

'_What's the matter, Plaktu?' Boris asked a touch of suspicion in his eye. _

'_It's nothing, I'm tired,' Zongi replied slipping back into his cover._

'_Her pupils are dilated!' the princess called out._

'_Auntie, is she okay?' Chid whispered._

_Feeling for her neck, putting her head on her chest, the princess was gasped. 'Oh, no! Her heart! It stopped!'"_

"Holy crap, she died!"

PLOT ARMOR! PLOT ARMOR!

_Watching helplessly from the cells, the king called out to the guards running past. 'What is happening!? HEY!' he grabbed an arm and stopped one of them. 'What was that scream?'_

'_The prisoner died.' The man sneered. The king let him go, stepping back as the words brushed over. 'That's right, boy. Your friend is dead.' _

'_Oh, no…' Merle whimpered._

'_Knight!' Chid's voice rang from the right. He appeared not a moment later, his young eyes wild with panic. 'Knight! She's not breathing!'_

'_Please, Highness! Let us out of here now!' the king demanded. _

'_But… I can't…' _

'_Hurry, I'm begging you, Highness!'_

'_Come here!' Knight sprang forward and grabbed the boy through the bars. Putting a small blade to his neck, Boris ran around the corner and stopped short. _

'_Knight, if you hurt him-'_

'_Just open the gate, please…' Knight snarled. _

_Meanwhile, the princess undid the girl's blouse to perform CPR. 'Come on, hold on. Just hold on. Don't die on me.' She murmured with shaking fingers. Placing her hands folded on the girl's chest, she began chest compressions._

_The king stormed out of the cage with Merle at his heels. Knight followed with the prince still captive in his arms. _

'_Don't think you're going to get away with this, Knight!' _

'_We'll see about that! Now just clear the way!'_

_The king rushed past without further delay._

_The princess was panting. Her arms were weakening. She pushed and pushed on the girl's heart. Her face remained blank, her eyes lifeless. The king raced to her, every compression matching two of his steps. _

_Finally, he reached her._

'_Princess? How is she?!' he panted running through the doorway. Merle followed swiftly after him. _

_The blond woman's throat was thick with tears. 'It's no use. Her heart won't start.'_

_Pushing the princess gently aside, the king placed his hands in the exact spot she had been pushing. 'Is this right?' he asked with determination._

'_Yes, that's right! Push in time with your own heartbeat!' _

'_In time with my heart beat…' he whispered and began pumping on her chest. _

'_That's right! You need to push harder on her heart! Harder!' The princess instructed._

'_Don't die… don't die… don't die on me…' he prayed._

_It was only a minute before the others gathered around to watch the king. Knight stood by with the prince, Boris blocked the doorway with his massive body, Princess and Merle sat side by side silently. Each of their thoughts sending silent prayers._

'_Breathe… breathe…' he started hissing with each pump. _

'_Is she really dead?' Merle whispered._

'_Come on, you have to wake up!' the princess called out._

_There was nothing. Her eyes were still blank._

'_Just snap out of it, you idiot!' the king roared in frustration._

_And she blinked."_

PLOT ARMOR SAVES THE DAY!

"_Turning over to her side, she coughed loudly trying to retake her breath. Merle licked her pale face as the princess looked her over, relief spilling over her shoulders. 'She's going to be okay…' she announced with a growing smile. _

_The king sat back on his heels, panting and sweating. He watched as if from a dream as the girl slowly caught her breath and opened her green eyes. _

_Knight let go of the prince. 'Merle, catch!' he called throwing her something. _

'_My nail file…?' the cat-girl tilted her head confused. Chid turned around to stare up at Knight as he was grabbed by the guards. _

_It wasn't a knife at all._

'_Knight…' he whispered and the blond man gave him a gentle smile."_

There was a knock on the door and it immediately opened.

Nurse stopped reading.

"Hey, what are you doing in here? I thought you were on break."

Van knew this voice.

Jessica.

"I _am_ on break. I'm reading." Nurse said simply.

"Why are you reading in a patient's room?"

"I'm reading to him."

"But you're supposed to be on break. Why would you read to a patient while on break?" Jessica sounded mystified by Nurse's behavior. Even a little suspicious.

"I'm reading to him because that's what I chose to do on my break time. If you don't like it, go report it."

"I-I don't care what you do. It's just weird that you'd be in here. Does Mr. Fanel like you in here?"

YES! Van responded immediately. Unfortunately, Jessica hadn't been trained to read the brainwave machine.

"You're interrupting his evening. I probably should tell Millerna about this."

"She already knows," Nurse's voice was suddenly confident, cool, and even charming. "She said that it was perfectly fine. This is a good therapy for him. Mr. Fanel has really improved quite a bit since I started this book."

What the hell? She sounded just like Knight's voice except in her normal tone. Van knew she pulled that acting crap on Allen with fake cheerfulness, but he'd never seen her use such charm before. As the girl backed away placated, Van was once again strangely proud to know this particularly interesting trait about his nurse. If he didn't know her voice so well, he would have probably never caught on she was lying.

So, Nurse was a really, _really _good liar… nice to know…

"Well, that was something," she sighed once the door closed. "Jessica is kind of a trouble-maker, but she's scared of Millerna. As long as I say Millerna doesn't care, she won't bother us again. Hopefully, she'll pick up a book and try reading once in a while. Sometimes I feel like Jessica passed her nursing exams on dumb luck."

YES. Van responded, still surprised at her.

"We only have a couple more pages left. Let's keep at it."

YES.

"_What happened to you?' the king asked, as he helped her sit up. The girl was shaking like a leaf._

'_It's-It's the fake. He's going to die. Very soon. I think.' Her words were broken. _

'_The fake?'_

'_The fake! He will die! Oh, no! Noooo!' Covering her face with her hands, she buried her head into the princess' blouse. _

_Her terrified cries echoed down the dungeon, but were not strong enough for the panicked doppelganger to hear. He had long since passed the narrow streets of Freid and was now swinging from pine limb to pine limb, her words and visions bouncing in his head._

'_So, I'm going to die, am I?' He hissed. His breath caught as his surroundings wavered into snaking trees twisting themselves to reach him. Was he stuck in the illusion? Was this real life?_

_He let out a wild shout backing away and the world righted itself. Trees were trees. Grass was grass. There was nothing there. Zongi was still alive. He'd still BE alive._

'_Oh, no, now I'm seeing things…' he covered his sweating pale face. Leaping up with his strong legs, he latched onto a limb of a pine tree and looked to the mountain side. _

_I must report this to Stratego…'_

_The king, Merle, and Knight were once again bound. Chid, his young face crunching in suspicion, couldn't believe his ears. Turning to the group he asked, 'Plaktu's a Zaibach spy? Are you positive?' _

'_I saw the whole thing,' the girl's voice shook and she had to take a few deep breaths before continuing. 'He killed the real Plaktu and took his shape. The prisoner was killed by him, too. But black hands will… he's going to…' the image of the liquid metal made her sick inside. The instant agony and release... the stream of blood that trickled down._

_Chid's jaw tightened. 'Where is Plaktu now?'_

'_He's nowhere to be found.' Boris answered solemnly. _

'_He ran away!' the king yelled angrily. 'Your Highness, we have to track him down right away! If we waste any more time, he'll tell Zaibach about her secret!'_

'_SILENCE!' Boris bellowed. 'You must not pay attention to what they say, my prince!' _

'_Boris!' the boy hissed furiously. The older man quieted, watching the prince square his small shoulders and march towards Knight. They stared at each other for a few brief seconds, and then Chid grasped the small dagger hanging at his side and released the blade. _

_Both the girl and princess gasped. 'Highness…?' his aunt whispered._

'_No, Chid…' Knight said softly. The young boy raised the shaking blade."_

"He's not going to kill him!"

He'd be killing his own father. Huh.

Also, plot armor.

"_The words Knight had spoken before rang in the boy's head: 'Sometimes it takes more courage to believe in someone than to fight and dismiss them so easily.'…_

_And he lowered the blade to slice off the Knight's bindings._

'_Highness…' _

'_Knight, I need your help. I want you to help me find the Zaibach spy, Plaktu.'_

'_HIGHNESS, have you taken leave of your senses?' The large advisor roared._

'_One proves innocence through ones deeds. I truly believe they are innocent and right now we need their help. I will take full responsibility.'_

_Taken back, Boris just put his hands together in prayer and salute. Knight stood and groaned._

'_Hold on, his wounds aren't healed yet. I will gladly go in his place!' king said._

'_I-I want to go along, too,' the girl said, resolve entering her voice. _

_The Escaflowne gently took off into the darkening sky. The girl sat in the front, she held her pendant ready. The king steered the giant mecha with mahogany eyes watchful. 'I don't care what kind of creature he is. I can't let that vision come true.' She prayed silently, pulling her necklace close to her face. It shimmered slightly. _

'_You see anything?' the king asked through the blustering wind._

_She concentrated, clearing her mind, and within only a few seconds pointed to the south: 'There's a tower!'_

'_Got it!' He pulled the left control and took off into the night._

_Watching the dragon disappear, Boris mumbled, 'They may just run away, Highness…'_

'_I really don't think so. I trust the faith Knight has in king.'_

_At the tower, a scarlet Melef was half hidden in the shadows. The silver-haired pilot clenched his fists angrily, 'A woman from the Mystic Moon?!'_

'_Yes,' Zongi confirmed, kneeling before the boy. 'A horrible woman who sees the unseen and knows the past and future.'_

'_Sees the unseen and can read the future,' he smirked with realization. 'I get it. That explains what happen when…' he pictured his claw headed towards king's face when suddenly, the girl tackled him to the ground. Dilandau had missed the king only by mere inches. 'And then…' he remembered the Escaflowne dodging each of his attacks in the forest. The girl… that girl riding on the king's shoulder. Pointing straight at him. 'And that time too…' she had warned the king back at the fortress, ultimately resulting in the scar that now ran down Dilandau's cheek. _

_Touching his cheek, his eyes grew narrow with a smile. 'That explains everything…' The boy stepped into the control chamber and it closed him in. 'Good work, Zongi.'_

'_I humbly accept your praise,' the doppelganger bowed._

'_Now accept your reward,' the boy hissed. Flicking his thumb on his cremma claw, the liquid metal instantly burst through the middle gun to cover the spy's body._

'_Wha-What are you doing, Lord Dilandau?' _

'_You killed Miguel.' He said simply, standing his Guymelef up and taking the trapped Zongi with him. _

'_I-I was doing my duty!'_

'_That was a horrible thing you did to him. That's why I hate doppelgangers.'_

'_What are you doing? STOP!' the metal had encased his entire body just like the illusion… no, prediction had shown. _

_The dragon flew fast over the tree tops. 'Is that it?' the king asked seeing a tall black silhouette sticking out of the pines._

'_Please, please hurry!' she pleaded. _

'_STOP! PLEASE!' Zongi wailed, feeling the bones in his legs on the verge of snapping. Dilandau just watched with a smile on his face._

'_We're not going to make it!' she cried and her vision snapped her back. She was trapped in the liquid metal; it covered her neck, traveling over her head, obscuring her vision. 'KING!' she shrieked, feeling the cold, relentless pain once more. 'No! No, I don't want to be back!'_

_Zongi screeched, his open mouth starting to gurgle the metal. _

_She clutched her face, screaming. 'STOP IT!' _

'_DIE!' Dilandau roared. _

_And the metal enclosed together with an easy crunch. Streams and mists of blood spewed forth. _

_She cried; her green eyes wide and she stumbled back into the king's arms. He caught her awkwardly, his face perplexed and concerned. She had fainted. _

'_Whoa! What's happening?'_

_They flew over the ruins and Dilandau watched them go._

'_Oh, it's Escaflowne!' he grinned. 'This is my lucky day!' He pressed his communicator. 'Chesta! Gatti!'_

'_Come on! Come on! Snap out of it!' the king demanded, tucking her dead weight under his arm and leaning her head on his shoulder. A spark of light caught the king's dark eye and he swung the Escaflowne to the right just in time to avoid a blast of fire. The dragon was wobbling as he tried to balance both the girl and concentrate on the oncoming missiles. Two sets of cremma claws streaked across the sky and he dodged both by just a fraction of a hair._

'_Enjoying the fireworks?' the silver-haired boy laughed, shooting more flames from his mecha. _

'_Oh, god, it's those invisible morons again.' He groaned, steering to the left with a jerk. He felt her shift against his body. 'Hey, are you okay?' _

'_Just concentrate.' She turned to look at his face. He glanced at her, but then quickly avoided another raging pillar of fire. 'Picture them in your mind…'_

_The king frowned as he swerved. This was suicidal! This was impossible! 'You mean in the middle of a fight?' he asked incredulously. _

'_You can do it. I know you can.' She reached up with a cold, shaking hand and placed it on his. His throat tightened and he blinked at the unexpected gesture. A weird sharp tingle ran up and down his spine. As her small fingers tightened over his, he faced forward. His fears left him and in its place was a hard fortitude. A will to never give up._

_He could do this._

_He was strong._

_Pressing a hatch on his right controller, the king released the Escaflowne's sword and the dragon's metal claw caught the hilt."_

BAD. ASS. MOTHER. FU-

"_He swung high in the sky, slipping around and around the constant streams of fire and liquid metal. _

'_Alright, come down here…' Dilandau taunted, his eyes wild with excitement. _

_The king closed his dark eyes, still continuing to dodge. Her forehead touched his cheek, filling him with courage._

'_Concentrate. Picture it in your mind. I know you can do it.' She whispered. _

_The jewel on the Isano's chest began to shimmer with bright light as he focused his thoughts. _

_Sharper. _

_Harder._

_Focus._

_He saw a glimmer… the pendant… he saw the pink jewel swinging lazily in circles… around and around and around and-_

_The Escaflowne's grip tightened on the sword as the king's eyes snapped open and he bellowed, 'GOTCHA!' Suicidality diving over the ancient tower, he sliced the open air as he bottomed out and yanked his controls to try and keep level. Behind him, a scarlet Guymelef fizzled into view._

'_WHAT!?' Dilandau shrieked as his gears of stealth cloak refused to move._

_The dragon landed with a skidding crash on the stone tiles of the tower and the king turned the Escaflowne swiftly, readying the sword at the same time. Just as Dilandau raised the cremma claw to strike, the king swept the blade up and sliced off the gun. The dragon flapped his wings, taking into the air, and he smashed the tail into the scarlet mecha's control chamber with a solid CRUNCH._

_Dilandau yelped with panic and fear, unable to control his falling Guymelef. 'It's… it's… her…' he said wildly, his eyes catching sight of the girl in the king's arms. 'It's that troublemaker from the Mystic Moon…' He slid off the side, collapsing to the ground below. _

'_Lord Dilandau!' a dragon slayer screamed from the shadows. The Escaflowne instantly took off, diving straight to the boy, the giant sword whistling through the air. Direct hit! The king swung the dragon's tail once more, slamming the dragon slayer into the tower wall._

'_Come on!' he roared challengingly. He sensed someone behind him and parried just in time. The scarlet mecha was back._

'_You are mine, girl!' Dilandau shouted ferociously._

'_He wants you?!' the king realized glancing at the girl with surprise. He nudged her limp body with his shoulder to bring her protectively closer. Her forehead fell tenderly against the side of his neck. He drove the sword through one of the spokes of the liquid metal and halted Dilandau's blade as it came straight for her. The large sharp point was stopped only a few feet from her face. The king's arms and hands were trembling from holding him off._

'_You're the one! You're the one that keeps getting in my way!'_

_She whimpered with fear as the blade slid closer and closer. _

_The king felt his grip slackening. _

'_No!' he shouted and pulled his right hand up. The Escaflowne's long head rose and smashed the scarlet Melef in the face. It broke the swords loose and Dilandau was thrown off-balance._

_Lifting off quickly, the king soared safely into the sky. _

'_You're not getting away that easy!' Dilandau shrieked and initiated his flight mode… only for the Guymelef to smash back to the ground, damaged. His cries of fury followed them as they escaped back over the treetops and out of sight. _

_Dawn quickly approached as they landed on the ground in the safe streets of Freid. After telling the story of what happened, Chid lowered his head blond head sadly. _

'_It's just as you predicted.'_

'_We lost the only proof we had that Plaktu was an imposter…' the king said with tightened fists._

'_No,' Boris spoke up, surprising everyone. 'You must understand that you have truly proven yourselves.'_

'_They found the corpse of the real Plaktu,' the princess piped in. _

'_He was found alone in the forest by the monks. The corpse was a husk. It was the work of a doppelganger.' Boris finished._

'_I believe you even if there wasn't any proof.' Chid said smiling. 'That's because you came back.'_

_The king and girl glanced at each other, relief spilling over each of their faces. The king suddenly looked away swiftly and scratched the back of his neck. _

'_That's great!' Merle cheered. _

'_Please forgive the many wrongs we've done.' Boris apologized."_

"You mean the many wrongs _you've _done." Nurse hissed.

Van couldn't agree more.

"'_Knight,' princess stepped close with a growing smile. 'You're the one who convinced Chid.' A thought crossed her mind. 'You know what, you two look a lot alike. Your eyes are the same color. You could almost be brothers.'"_

"Maybe they are…" Nurse concluded with a whisper.

Yeah, and _I_ have angel wings, Van thought sarcastically. They are father and son and I have called it so hard that when it is revealed, if I don't jump out of this bed with a loud, 'HA! TOLD YOU!' I'm going to hate myself.

"_Knight and the prince turned to look at each other, the same good heart shining through each of their eyes._

_A soldier came up and leaned into Boris' ear. The large man smiled. 'Good news!' he announced. 'I've just learned the duke has returned.'_

'_You mean my father's back?' Chid asked excitedly._

_As a large ship docked on the northern harbor, lines of monks bowed before a tall, thin man sitting on inside an open sedan chair. _

_Chid's father, the Grand Duchy of Freid, had come home." _

"That concludes that chapter," she said shutting the book.

YES.

"But I couldn't help but notice something…" Nurse's voice had turned thoughtful. Van wondered what silly possibilities she was cropping up with this time. Did she finally realize Knight was Chid's father?

"The girl and the king have gotten a lot closer."

That's a nope then.

"I gotta think about it, they went through destroying the mine together and he is the one with the wings in her vision."

Oh, God, don't remind me…

"And he saved her again with CPR and she's teaching him her power… it's just strange because the book hinted so hard that the girl and Knight were meant to be together and now it looks like it's switching to the king. Did you feel that too?"

YES. Kinda? Van hadn't really paid too much attention to the romantic bits of the story to be honest.

"How do you feel about that? Yes, you like it. No, you don't.

Ha, if Van had to side with a character, he'd always chose the king hands down, so armed with loyalty; he gave her a solid YES.

"Ah, I knew you'd say that. You've got that soft spot for the king."

HELL YES. Even in that last chapter, he kicked ass! Saving the girl, battling invisible enemies with a dragon… you'd have to be mental not to like him!

"I really want Knight to win." She sighed and then sat up suddenly in her seat. "Hey, Mr. Fanel, I have a crazy thought."

…yes… he said, wondering where she was going.

"How about we make a wager: if she ends up with the king, you win. If it's Knight, I win. The loser… ummm… the loser has to pay for the winner's dinner! Oooo, now I can't wait for you to get better! I love big T-bone steaks!" She said teasingly.

SURE. YES.

Van would have laughed at her if he could. I'm totally going to win, he thought smugly. Though you might have to feed me my steak through an IV or something...

"That's great! - Oh no, it's about that time, Mr. Fanel. I need to get back."

She had to leave already?

"OH! I might have forgotten to tell you. I won't be here tomorrow night."

NO.

She chuckled. "I'm sorry! Your precious king is just going to have to wait…"

NO. NO. So many NOs.

"I've got a day off. Well, the night off at least. I'll be meeting Allen for another date." Her giggles faltered out into an awkward silence.

"To be honest, Mr. Fanel, I don't… I don't know what to do."

YES.

"He wants a relationship, but… I just don't know if I like him like that. He's charming and sweet. He's the perfect guy, excluding the lack of punctuality. And yet… I still feel like there's something just not quite right between us… Can I ask you something?"

YES.

"This is probably an odd question, but… do you think short hair is attractive?"

Uhhh… Van didn't know how to answer that.

He knew from one of her chats with Yukari that Allen actually had long hair (prissy-ass), so if she was asking if he liked short hair on a guy or-

"Oh!" she giggled at his mixed brainwaves, "Of course, you don't know! I have short hair!"

Then, YES.

And Van wasn't saying that just to humor her. He actually did like short hair on women. Interesting she'd have short hair. He would have never guessed.

"You do?"

Absolutely, YES.

"That's kind of a relief actually," she released a short breath with a laugh. "I better go, Mr. Fanel. Thank you for your kind words. I hope you wake up soon."

YES.

The door closed.

Van didn't fall asleep for quite a while.

He stayed awake picturing what Nurse might look like.

Short hair…

Huh.

* * *

Opening a menu, she laid it on the table and took a sip of her water. She checked her watch again and sighed. Just what did she expect? At least she decided to go ahead and get a seat. She could not afford to get another fever waiting on him in the cold.

Her legs crossed under the table, her foot swung back and forth, back and forth. Mumbles of conversations filtered all around her.

She must look so stupid sitting here by herself.

Large hands suddenly covered her eyes and she let out a squeak of surprise. "Hi," a warm voice brushed into her ear. "Been waiting long?"

"Allen! No, I haven't been waiting long." She lied through a smile. "Was the subway backed up?"

"I got my motorcycle back. There was a stalled car on 25th street." He announced, sitting down on the other side of the table with grace. Pushing his long blond hair over his shoulder, he leaned his chin against his palm and stared at her with his brilliant blue eyes. "You look wonderful tonight, Ms. Kanzaki."

"O-oh, thank you…" she mumbled, taken by surprise.

"Have you decided on what you wanted?" He asked, gesturing to her menu.

"Not yet," she answered quickly, grateful for something to put in front of her face.

God, she was so awkward sometimes!

Flipping a page, her green eyes landed on 'T-Bone Steak'.

* * *

Van woke from a nap.

Something was different.

Something was very, very different.

Van breathing was steady.

His heart beat beeping at a normal pace.

But his eyes had opened.

They had actually _opened._

Van stared at the dark ceiling for several seconds.

The room was blue. It had a window. He moved his neck only slightly down and spied an empty chair to his right.

His feeble eyes began to form tears.

He was scared to blink.

His heart rate increased faster and faster; enough to cause alarm at the Nurse's station.

A tall, overweight nurse came into his room.

"Mr. Fanel? Is there something wrong?" she asked softly her knuckles knocking on the door. It was Jessica.

He glanced at her.

Then his weak eyelids dipped forward to close.

"Mr. Fanel!"

* * *

**More to come. And more to edit.  
**

**Hope you enjoyed the little cliff-hanger. Just wait till tomorrow! I have so many things ready for you guys!**

**Hope you're having a happy week!**

**blue...**


	4. Chapter 4: Folken and Stratego

**And now we continue...**

* * *

"You're saying he snapped out of the paralysis?"

"His eyes were open, doctor!" Jessica's voice squealed beside him. "He was looking right at me! What happened to him? Why is he back to being paralyzed?"

"Alright, Nurse, I got it. Please, don't be so loud in here." The neurologist, Dryden, complained gently. "I'll give him a few more tests. Just go tend to someone else for a while."

The nurse left and a relieving silence followed.

"She's a talker, that one." The doctor commented dryly.

YES. Van agreed.

"So… waking up on me, are you? For some reason, you slipped back under. Now, I'm going to count from one to ten. This will be for how many minutes you were _awake_ just now. I'll count slowly: One… Two…

YES. It felt like at least two minutes. It probably wasn't though.

"Two minutes, okay, were you able to see?"

YES.

"Was the wallpaper yellow?"

NO.

"Was it blue?"

YES. You tricky bastard… Van smirked inwardly.

"Was there a window?"

YES.

"Was it on the left side?"

NO.

"The right side?"

YES.

"You're pupils were focused then. That's a good sign. Very good sign. Were you able to move?"

YES.

"Head?"

YES.

"Neck?"

YES.

"Shoulders?"

NO. Didn't try…

"Probably didn't get that far…" Dryden mused.

YES.

A pen clicked and all was silent except for small scribbling noises. Then the doctor said, "All I can say is that you are obviously on the mend. Whatever is holding you back from waking up properly is slipping, Mr. Fanel. I am hopeful that within a week tops, we might see you coming back more often. Time heals all wounds. You will be proof of that."

YES.

* * *

"I heard the news!"

It was Nurse!

"You woke up! You did it, Mr. Fanel!"

YES. Well, kinda… Van thought bitterly. He was right back where he was before actually.

"I'm so proud of you! This just means you will get better and better! I wish I could have been here the other night to see you. This is wonderful!" She plopped down in the seat and he heard her scoot it closer. "Jessica was going on and on about your eyes. She said they are a tannish-red. I love that! I really wish you'd open them for me sometime soon."

I would if I could just to see you… he drew up the mental picture of her he had established in his mind from several nights ago.

"Are you ready to celebrate with the next chapter?" she asked excitedly.

YES.

"_Kneeling on the lined carpet in the Freid's Throne Chamber, Knight, the king, the girl, and Merle all bowed their heads as the Duke said, 'I have heard what happened, Fanelia, and as a fellow leader of men I offer my sympathies for the disaster that has befallen your country.'_

_The king lowered his black head further, showering the ruler with courtly manners. 'And for that, Duke Freid, I thank you very much.' _

_The girl sat behind near the doorway watching the Fanelian king._

'_We are already aware of Zaibach's activities. For that reason, I have headed back to our capital, Gotteshem. But nevertheless…' the Duke's dark eyes zeroed in on the blond man kneeling before him. 'Soldier of Caeli, it is shameful for a soldier to abandon his country no matter what the reason. I'm sure you understand that Freid has no use for such an immoral ruffian.'"_

Ooooh, burn!

"'_Wait!' Chid's little voice called out. 'Knight and his companions risked their lives to protect our country. And then they fought off the enemy's scouts and discovered their doppelganger.'_

'_Silence!' the Duke barked. 'You are far too young to offer advice, boy! Your actions may very well lead to our destruction.'_

_As Chid slumped further in his seat, another voice called out echoing, 'Wait!' _

'_Princess…' The Duke's stern face fell slightly. Walking from the shadows, princess knelt before the Duke behind the king and Knight._

'_Princess, we are busy. I will speak with you later.'_

'_Please, forgive my rude interruption, brother.' Her breath caught a bit as she released it slowly. 'No, I now realize I have no right to call you that name. Because I abandoned my country, too.'_

_The Duke gasped loudly."_

Nurse's phone rang.

REALLY?

"I promise you I told him this wasn't a good time to call, Mr. Fanel," Nurse said rapidly. "Oh, wait! It's Yukari! I probably do have to take this…"

DAMN IT.

Book: 3

Allen: 2

Yukari: 1

* * *

Nurse continued reading as soon as the call ended. Though she had been cheerful talking with her friend, judging by her eagerness to dive right back in, Van could tell she was just as annoyed at being interrupted as he was.

The book continued much the same. The princess explained everything that had happened so far to the silent Duke, almost as if the author needed to repeat it to herself to keep everything straight. Van couldn't blame her. It was a lot to handle. Princess tells him that Zaibach capped off Fanelia, has politically invaded Austuria, and the next target was Freid. Bing, bang, boom, done.

And the Duke believes her. Yaaaaay. He forgives Knight. Boooo. And it is so abundantly clear that the Duke is totally _not _Chid's real father.

Yaaaaay?

The next scene was the floating fortress. Neat.

"'_A girl from the Mystic Moon?' A globe projected the wizened face of an old man. Standing before the screen was Stratego._

'_Yes, she seems to have seen through our Guymelef stealth cloaks pointing out their locations.' _

'_Continue,' the old man growled. _

'_Reports say she guides the dragon by predicting the future.'_

'_Magnificent…' _

'_My lord?' _

_The old man chuckled. 'This power that can confound my destiny prognostication engine… I wish to see it…'_

'_Yes, lord.' Stratego bowed. _

_The old man sat back in his chair, his beard and hair spilling down to the floor. He looked up at his machine with his ancient eyes. 'Ahh… planet Earth. I remember it well…'"_

"So this old guy's from the Mystic Moon, too?" Nurse asked.

YES?

The next page was descriptions. A bunch of descriptions. Freid was going to war with Zaibach and there was a lot of inventory. Guymelef pilot count, soldier platoon training, the author even translated the monk chant that ran through over streets from the high temple balcony. Van listened bored, waiting for the next set of dialogue.

Shit, he'd take a romance scene right about now.

_The princess' gentle hands wrapped new bandages around Knight's bare waist. _

Go back to the boring descriptions! He didn't want romance! HE LIED! HE LIED!

'_Good, your wound is closing up,' she said. Glancing into Knight's face, her features fell. He looked so troubled, almost as if he was in pain. Princess closed her eyes and leaned against his bare shoulder. 'Knight, I don't care about Austuria or Freid. Just as long as your safe…' she wrapped her around his neck, hugging him tenderly. _

_The fat thief, listening intently from the doorway almost screamed as a pink head suddenly dashed into view._

'_Whatcha think you're doing?' Merle meowed innocently. _

'_No-Nothing!' the man stuttered. _

_She stood and opened the door with the old man still sputtering. _

'_Hey, Knight, has the girl been around here?'_

_Not even looking at the cat-girl, Knight responded with a quiet, 'No, I haven't seen her…' _

'_Oh, okay!' Merle chirped. 'Sorry for disturbing you.'_

_The girl in question was actually standing by herself on the other side of the castle. Watching the men load equipment from above on a balcony, she glanced up at the setting sun. _

_It shifted, turning a nasty red. Gasping, she watched as the doppelganger was covered with blood instead of the liquid metal, screaming and crying for his life. She fell backwards, but caught herself, feeling dizzy and weak. _

'_I… can't take it. Why do I keep seeing it?' she whispered with her eyes wide. She heard a growling laugh. Turning to her left she saw Merle sitting with a silly smirk. _

'_I never get bored watching you. You're crazy!' _

'_Yeah, well you possible couldn't understand how I feel, Merle,' the girl hissed back angrily._

'_Oh, I can't take it anymore!' the cat wailed mockingly. 'Why, oh why do I keep seeing it?' The girl sighed, not mustering anymore energy to fight. Merle danced behind her and shouted, 'Well, Miss Cheerful, my lord wants to see you!'_

_Down in a Guymelef hanger, the Escaflowne gleamed beautifully. The sword on the other hand…_

'_Damn, this thing's a mess!' one of Knight's crew grunted as he ran the file over the blade. 'You're too rough on this sword, ya majesty.'_

'_Oh, really?' the king returned shortly._

'_You bet! Now the boss' sword ain't got a scratch on it.'_

'_Well, excuse me, I'm not as good with a sword as Knight is, okay?' the king huffed irritated._

'_Now yer just being snarky, ya majesty.'_

'_Nah, he's lying. The commander's sword's got a few nicks in it, but… not as many as yours, your majesty.' Gadeth smiled good-naturedly. The crew member laughed._

'_My loooord! My looooord!' A familiar voice shrilled and he opened his arms automatically for the cat-girl to run into them. Looking over her pink head, he smiled in greeting at the girl who was following, 'Hey! Good to see you!'_

_Merle hissed._

'_You wanted to see me?' she asked quietly, her head still feeling foggy from the vision earlier._

'_That's right. I'd like to ask for your help.' _

'_Oh?'_

'_Yeah, look I don't want you to go into battle or anything. You see, it's just; you can sense the future and see where invisible targets are. I was hoping you could use that power and tell us what direction Zaibach was going to attack from.'_

'_That's a great idea, ya majesty!' _

'_Yeah, we may be able to scatter them before they attack!' Gadeth agreed._

'_That little lady will be like our goddess of victory!' another one announced._

_They cheered and laughed together until-_

'_No. No way.'_

_The king turned his head surprised. He watched her lip tremble. _

'_What-?' he started. _

'_I won't! I don't want to see it! I won't be used as some kind of tool!' _

_He gasped in surprise, the thought never crossing his mind. A tool…_

'_On Earth, I was just a normal girl. My readings were just a little more accurate than other people's. But since I came here, they're so accurate it's scary. And I keep having horrible visions…' her voice was beginning to break. 'I…I…'_

'_But it's not like-'_

'_Just stop counting on me!' she cried. 'Don't make me do anymore readings or see those horrible visions again! Never!' She turned on foot, running as fast as she could, her declaration continued to echo in the room._

'_No wait!' the king tried to call to her, but she was gone._

_Merle turned with a snotty frown. 'What's her problem?'_

_She ran, her legs pushing her to keep going. And then she stopped. _

_A small pond blocked her way. Sitting down on the cobblestones, she remembered the-_

Oh my GAWD, this girl was annoying!

Van couldn't help but tune out the rest of it as his thoughts went on a ranting rampage.

She was being so selfish! She had the power to save people! She had the power to protect those that were going to give their lives for _her_ safety. And yet she decides to pout like a little brat. Yeah, it sucked seeing death all the time, but if you have the ability to one-up your opponent then you'd be saving someone's father or brother! You'd be an actual asset to the cause and not just some bimbo who gets kidnapped all the time!

And, bonus points, you get the credit for bringing down a tyrannical country like Zaibach!

Hearing the scene change, Van tried to get back into the story, but Nurse said the name 'princess' and Van decided to peace-out once more. He had enough of drama - even though he had kind of begged for it earlier. From what Van gathered, the princess was walking through the gardens when she spotted a house in the trees. For some reason the door was open.

So, she goes on in and it's a private villa of her dead sister, Marlene. The Duke's there and was looking at her portrait. Alright, this was getting a little better. The Duke and she exchange a few pleasantries before he leaves.

Van decided the Duke really wasn't that bad of a guy. Yeah, he was a little rough with his kid and _maybe_ he shouldn't be letting a five year old call the shots while he was away, but lesson learned, he guessed.

Princess scans the shelves and spies a music box. Opening it, it plays a little song and she reminisces about her sister and how her sister she left to go to Freid.

Then the princess somehow pushes a button and the whole thing opens up to show a book.

Switch to king being a bad ass and training on his own with the psychic powers because he realized he can't count on the crazy chick.

Switch to the crazy chick STILL pouting at the lake and the little boy Chid coming up to her and basically showing her that she's a horrible, selfish person. She then proceeds to give him some bullshit about wishing to change your destiny.

Van decided to tune into Nurse's voice while he waited for the next action sequence to arrive.

Nurse… she read the psychic girl's monologue carefully, giving each word a gentle presence, almost as if she was speaking directly to _him _ and not reading from a book:

"It's true, don't you think?" Nurse read tenderly. "If you keep thinking, 'I wish I were' then you will work towards that goal. You'll try your hardest. But if you tell yourself it's hopeless or 'I can't do it' or 'my dreams will never come' true that's what's going to happen. If you wish hard enough, that wish will eventually reach the stars and they will give you the last of their power… the power of the stars…"

The last sentence was whispered. She paused for a moment as if thinking the words over. It was only for a few seconds, but Van had a feeling there was something Nurse had troubling her.

"Oh, I'm sorry,' she muttered, seeming to snap out of her thoughts. 'I kind of zoned out right there. I'll continue."

"_The king straightened his bow again, pulling back the string. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind except for one deep thought, 'I wish I could do this without her…'_

_The arrow twanged out of the bow and stuck in the target._

_He opened his eyes and smiled. He was on his way._

_Bulls-eye."_

Badass…

"_The girl turned to the little prince, 'Hey, I'll do a reading for you, Prince Chid! I'll ask the stars. You see tarot cards use the power of the stars to see the future. I'll tell you what's going to happen, okay?'_

_The boy blinked in surprise._

_Back at the villa, the princess opened the book with trembling hands. 'Yellow 34 Moon,' she read softly. 'Uncle Nevive brought me to see a tournament today. I think he's worried I spend too much time in my room. Unfortunately, I'm not the least bit interested in fighting. But there I saw a Soldier of Austuria, a young protégée of the sword. He was called Knight…'_

'_Oh, my goodness, this is Marlene's diary.' The princess whispered, her eyes growing wide."_

Yeah, no duh.

"I guess here's where we find out what's up with Marlene," Nurse said happily.

YES.

"'_Green, the 12__th__ Moon, the blond youth has been declared Caeli. In all of Austuria, only twelve men are given that honor. A soldier of the heavens… the name suits him perfectly. He's received guard duty and had left for the castle at Palas. It looks as though my hints to father have worked.'_

_Putting the book down just a bit in shock, princess felt her heart clench. 'Oh, my sister…'_

_Cards spread on the table, the psychic and the little boy sat facing each other. 'Emperor… Justice…' she looked up and smiled in his bright blue eyes. 'It's okay, it looks like you'll grow up stronger and stronger and it looks like everyone will want to help you.'_

'_Really?' he whispered in awe._

'_The Wheel of Fortune… you will overcome a great trial in the future and-' she blinked as a blond woman flickered into her vision. 'What's that? W-what was that?'_

'_What's the matter?' the boy tilted his head confused._

'_I-It's nothing…'_

_Princess continued the diary, pacing the floor as she read with restless legs, 'Red 3__rd__ Moon, I have been betrothed to the Duke of Freid. Why was I born into a royal house? I like the Duke, but I'm in love with someone else. This is the fate of soldiers and women born of the blood. I love you so much, Knight.' _

_Princess finally sat, her knees giving out on her._

'_Knight and Marlene were in love…?'_

_The girl's green eyes were wide. Her eyebrows hitched together as the vision crossed over her mind. She saw it. A younger Knight draped in the arms of a beautiful blond princess. 'Oh…. Oh, no…' she breathed, her heart beating terribly hard in her chest. _

_Outside, the clouds had started to gather, covering the two moons and stars in a blanket of darkness. A hiss of rain began to cry from the heavens as Princess' hand covered her mouth. 'It has to be.' She read silently. 'The child is the result of that night. If I tell the Duke, what will he say? He has only to count the days to… but I can't hide it… I…'"_

Hey, nurse, do you hear the phone ringing? Because I CALLED IT!

"OH. MY. GOSH… Knight is Chid's father, Mr. Fanel!"

YES. DUH!

Nurse was silent for a moment obviously reading his brainwaves. Then she laughed, "You _knew_ already, didn't you?"

YES. DUH!

"Well, aren't you a smarty-pants!"

YES.

Still giggling, she continued.

"_The psychic blinked out of her vision and the Prince's concerned face washed back into view. _

'_What's the matter?' he asked again._

_She clenched her fists and forced a smile, 'I'm sorry! I seemed to have lost my concentration. Okay…' her breath hitched as she noticed, '… That card… the reversed Empress… f-forbidden love…'_

'_No…' the princess sobbed, holding the closed diary to her heart. 'Chid was conceived by the forbidden love of Knight and Marlene.' _

_Outside the palace of Freid, Zaibach had gathered in the sky. Countless floating fortresses waited like pillars of destruction as the night broke into early dawn. _

'_Magnificent,' a man growled from his helmet. 'The four demon armies of Zaibach are mustering once again.' The man knelt, his dark eyes fixed to the ground. 'General Adolphus, I would be honored if you would give the order.'_

_The straight-backed General hardly blinked as he darkly replied, 'Yes…'_

'_General, all ships are in formation!'_

'_Excellent…' He took several steps, his deep-set eyes never leaving the tall windows. Withdrawing his blade, he pointed it forward, 'The time has come! The grace of the gods is with us! All forces launch now!'_

_Like bees leaving a hive, the Zaibach Guymelefs left the hanger to advance. _

'_Army of Bronze forward now!' _

'_Army of Iron! Now launch!'_

'_Army of Silver, launch now!'_

_All Guymelefs came. Crushing through trees, flying over mountains. Coming closer and closer to Freid._

_An army bringing forth a reckoning. _

_As daylight began to stream from the clouds, the world awoke to Zaibach's greatest armies waiting for them. The Guymelef's lined the mountainsides, the sky littered with the fortresses. _

'_Majesty!' Boris announced bowing before the Duke's throne. 'The enemy has taken up positions in all four directions. They number roughly fifty-five thousand and they also some ten-thousand Guymelefs! This is far too many for a main surge.'_

_The Duke looked at his advisor sharply. 'Boris… do you accept the responsibility for all those who are born in Freid? _

_The large man's shoulders squared as he stood up and said, 'This is a fine day for all that is written in the Book of Lions.'_

_The Duke nodded with a proud slimmer as the little prince looked up quickly._

'_The… The Book of Lions…?'_

_Merle dodged around the mayhem of Freud's crowded streets, her eyes beseeching the king. 'My lord! I'm coming!'_

_The king's hand had just grasped the open control chamber of the Escaflowne. 'No, Merle! You stay and look after the girl.' Flipping himself inside the seat, the Ispano closed him in with a giant hiss. _

'_Oh, my lord…' Merle muttered worriedly. 'Please make it back and be okay…' _

_He stood with the mecha, marching forward to join the ranks._

_Knight stood beside his own Guymelef. 'Gadeth,' he said swiftly, turning to his second by his side. 'Take up position by the castle in the levee ship. I'll head out with the troops.'_

'_Yes, sir!' _

_With that done, the Knight walked up the stairs to his platform, his mouth set in a firm line._

'_Knight!' a voice called behind him. He turned around to see the princess looking up at him with desperate blue eyes. _

'_Princess…'_

'_There's something I'd like to ask you…' _

'_It's about Princess Marlene, isn't it…?' Knight guessed closing his eyes wearily. _

_She gasped lightly._

'_It's true. Marlene and I were in love. It was long before she was betrothed to Duke Freid. Princess…' he opened his eyes to give her a sad look. 'I must tell you that Chid is probably our-'_

'_NO!' the princess cried, covering her ears. 'I don't want to hear it!'_

'_Chid is MY son!' A loud call echoed in the chamber. Both looked to a balcony overhang where the Duke of Freid stood tall and unyielding. _

'_Brother!' Princess shouted in surprise. He stared down hard at Knight's bright blue eyes._

_Meanwhile, in a Zaibach floating fortress, the co-pilot announced, 'Dragon Slayers are in position!'_

'_Hold your position for the time being,' Stratego's deep voice commanded. 'Dilandau, you will attack according to plan.'_

'_Of course, Stratego,' the boy easily replied on his communicator. _

_Stratego's deep mahogany eyes narrowed as he looked out over the vulnerable city spread before him. _

'_Brother…'_

_Dilandau, on the other hand, switched over his stealth cloak and watched proudly as his Dragon Slayers did the same. _

_The battle was ready to begin."_

Nurse shut the book softly, "So, war with Zaibach, huh?"

YES.

"It's a good thing the Duke is a reasonable person, but honestly, _Chid _is Knight's child…? I don't know how I feel about that…"

Knight's a turd. I've said it before and I'll say it again.

"It's like, the more I read this book, the more I'm not sure about Knight. I like him as a character because he's very chivalrous and brave, but… this chapter… I just don't know…"

Yeah, knocking up Princess' dead sister sounds _very_ chivalrous, Nurse.

"I guess if the two were in love before she met the Duke... that _does _make it a little better," she concluded. "I gotta get back to work, Mr. Fanel. Same time tomorrow?"

You know it, Nurse!

"Okay!" she said smiling. "I hope you wake up again soon."

* * *

The next night, she sat down right away and opened the chapter. "I've been waiting all day to see how this battle is going to turn out! I bet you'll like it since there's going to be a bunch of action in it!"

HELL YES!

"_The Zaibach banners waved proudly as the smoke rose high in the streets. Bodies and machinery lay as decaying equals on the broken cobblestones. Hours upon hours rose to meet the Freidian army as they were pushed further and further into retreat, until finally, as the sun set in the burning western sky…_

_Zaibach stormed through the gates of the capital city._

'_Chesta, have you found the dragon yet?' Dilandau's voice carried over the communicators. _

'_There's still no sign of it. Most of the enemies Melef units have been wiped out. We have now occupied the castle grounds.' _

_Dilandau's crimson eyes narrowed as he turned his Guymelef to stare at the burning city. 'Something strange is going on…' he mused. 'They're not putting up enough resistance and there's no sign of the dragon either… Something's not right…'_

'_The dragon slayers are about to enter the castle,' Chesta announced. _

'_Chesta, wait. We will hold our position right here.' _

'_But sir-'_

'_That's enough, Chesta! We'll wait for the dragon to make his move.'_

_Hearing through the communicator, the dispatcher relayed the news back to Stratego up in the fortress, 'My lord, the dragon slayers are holding their positon.'_

'_Excellent work, Dilandau…' the black-cloaked man praised quietly. 'It can't be easy to steal the secret treasure of Freid which has been passed down since time immemorial.'_

_From the other side near the army towers, Zaibach's silver army continued their invasion. Rushing in eagerly, they were surprised to find-_

'_There's still one left!'_

_A Freidian Guymelef rose to meet the cremma claw that immediately shot to kill. Boris, maneuvering to the right, wasn't fast enough!_

_His wizened old eyes widened in surprise and pain. And then they softened with the oncoming of death. 'We'll never give you the secret treasure of Freid. Be well, Prince Chid,' he gasped his goodbye through blood-filled lips, 'And may you have a very happy life…' _

_As his life started to slip away, Boris raised his sword with the last of his strength and smashed a beautiful globe sitting in front of him. The impact of the hit splintered the ground and roof causing a massive cave in. _

_Burying the self-sacrificing advisor and four Zaibach Guymelef's in tons of rubble._

_Dilandau's mouth fell open in fury. 'What?' he yelled. 'What the-?'_

_Glancing up with his sharp eyes, he noticed a small ship fleeing the castle. His fury intensified with his excitement as he hissed, 'Very well done! Excellent work! I bet you had that planned out the whole time!' he closed his eyes, trembling. 'You sacrifice them… You went ahead and sacrificed all those pitiful troops… Not bad at all, boys… Very nicely played, Freid!' _

_As the rocks continued to tumble from the fallen castle, the scarlet mecha stood still, the pilot inside beside himself with violent laughter. _

_The flames, the smoke, all were left behind as the small ships sailed over the treetops. Prince Chid, his little fists clenched against the safety of the glass, felt his eyes tingle and his throat tighten. 'The castle…' he whispered, watching it all. 'The castle is burning…'_

_Standing beside him, the king, the girl, and the cat watched the prince fall to his knees in tears. 'Boris… the others… they're all gone… they gave up our lives so that we could escape…'_

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, I thought that Knight and king were about to head out to battle." Nurse stopped with bewilderment.

What? Why did-? How did-? Ah, man, is this really happening right now? Van groaned.

"_The king lowered his head, remembering how Boris had stopped his Ispano just as he marched out of the hold to join them in defending the castle. _

_The old advisor had asked a favor from him. _

_A dying man's request…"_

This author owes Nurse and me a battle! Van wanted to growl.

"'_Chid!' The Duke barked, snapping the king out of his memories. 'My son, if you have time to cry like that then I bid you take a good look at the ground there below us. Just look at the body of Boris and all those who have died to protect you. And at the fate of those born in Freid. And at the heavy burden of those who rule her. Shed no tears for them! You are a Prince of Freid.'_

_The boy, trembling with the weight of his grief, stood at his father's demand, his eyes watering, but tears held back with force. _

_Knight stood watching the boy, his blue eyes wishing to comfort him. _

_His son…_

_Princess noticed the expression with a small sigh escaping her lips. She never knew about the boy's true lineage. Now only Chid was unaware. The Duke's declaration of 'Chid is MY son!' back at the hanger rang through her mind. _

'_We're moving out of sight of the castle…' the girl whispered as she watched the burning city pass further and further from sight. Unnoticed by her, the king glanced at her expression; his feelings of unease matching her own. _

_Back at the floating fortress, he was at a standstill. Stratego's goal, The Treasure of Freid, was destroyed by Boris' Guymelef. Standing before the large screen as his Emperor shifted into view, Stratego listened as his ruler croaked out, 'Apparitions have appeared in my Destiny Prognostication Engine. What we seek lies to the west of Goteshem.'_

'_So… it's due west… Fortuna Temple…' Stratego realized. _

'_I want to see it soon… I want to see our ideal future… the image of our bright future…' the Emperor's face faded at that declaration and Stratego stared at the black screen in deep thought. _

'_It is Fortuna… The oldest of Freid's temples…' He mused_

_Far away in the west, the large ship landed in a massive crater. The occupants of the ship were greeted by the sounds of chanting monks. Thousands of robed figures sat praying at the doorways and windows. The very stones of the temple seemed to resonate with their mixed voices. In the outer chamber, numerous men in uniform bowed before the Duke as he sat down on the ancient royal carpet. _

'_This is our final battle. We must protect the ancient secret treasure of Freid at all costs. With Fortuna as our last bastion, I have traveled here and have come to ask you, the Zegot Clan, for your aid.' _

'_Our clan has lived for this day, Duke Freid. We won't let you down.' The leader promised with a nod of his head. A soldier stepped forward with a long, sharp blade. 'My duke, we return to you this: The Treasure Sword of Freid, which has been entrusted to us for so long.'_

_Grabbing the red sheathed sword with strong fingers, the Duke turned to his son standing close. 'Now Chid, I will tell you the duty of those born in Freid's royal house. King of Fanelia, Knight, Soldier of Caeli, I would have you hear this as well, you who fight by our side.'"_

"I wonder what this treasure is." Nurse asked with a frown on her voice. "They sure are talking it up big."

Dunno. Don't really care. Kind of over it. Get to a battle already!

"_Great doors slid opened with a granule creak of stone against stone. A walkway was barely visible in the deep darkness of the inner chamber. Leading the way, the Duke held the sword at his side. The door shut behind them creating a pitched blackness._

'_This place is scary…' Merle whimpered at the girl's side._

'_What is it about this place… it's almost as if…' the psychic breathed the stale air and felt the spark of a waiting secret. 'I feel a strange power here…' _

_The Duke walked forward towards a stone tablet while the rest of the group waited at the doorstep. Releasing the blade from its sheath, he plunged it into the stone with a hiss. From behind the king's back, the psychic girl gasped lightly. A shadow of an angel rose from the stone, uncurling its wings and taking flight into the air. It vanished soon after._

_A quiet pink energist embedded into the sword's hilt instantly began to react. It shimmered brighter and brighter until it projected a clear message hidden within the contours of the stone. Knight took a step forward in surprise._

'_But isn't that…' he couldn't finish the sentence._

'_Yes, this writing is that of ancient Atlantis…' the Duke confirmed. 'The secret Treasure of Freid which we have gathered since time immemorial is the power of Atlantis. It's entire strength has been stored here.'_

'_I don't believe it…' Knight whispered._

'_What's the matter?' Merle asked with a face._

'_I see it…' the girl nodded, her green eyes glued to the wall. 'I can see it…'_

'_The citizens of Atlantis ruled the land, ruled the sea, and ruled the sky.' The Duke began._

'_They grew very proud of their power.' The girl continued almost in monotone. Her eyes glazed over as a vision of a white city spread before her. 'And then wished that they could become gods themselves. Transforming human will into energy, they ruled Atlantis.' People soared through the sky on beautiful white wings, praying to only themselves._

'_However…' the Duke said softly. _

_Before the girl's eyes flames sprung up to lick the beautiful creatures into ash. Heat raged as the once white buildings and streets blackened and they crumbled together into dust. She felt the heat of the judgment. She felt the pain and fear and regret… so much regret…_

_Closing her eyes, the girl accidentally fell into the princess, who was standing right beside her. Merle grabbed her arm to keep her upright. Putting a hand to her head, she tried to blink out the spots that blackened her vision. _

'_Atlantis was totally destroyed by that power. The survivors sealed that power here in Fortunia, so that it will never be used again. Defending the sword: The key to that seal is the duty of the royal house. Chid, we must never let the power of Atlantis be awakened again. If you are truly my son then you will understand.'_

'_Yes, father,' Chid said determinedly. Knight's face tightened. _

_Clouds grew overhead as the troop left the chamber and made their way to their separate quarters. It was storming by the time midday fell into noon. Walking to the Guymelef hold, the girl peered over the balcony to see the king holding his hands up towards the Escaflowne. She tilted her head in confusion and took the steps down towards him. _

_In the king's cleared mind, he summoned forth pictures of the various parts of Escaflowne. The arm guard, the knee brace, the shoulder chains, he sat with those images feeling how the Guymelef felt when moving them. Twisting a gear, flexing a switch, he closed his hand and felt the Escaflowne's smooth movements mirroring his own. He lifted his leg, struggling with the picture. A vision of the swinging pendant slipped forward, swinging leisurely to guide his meditation…._

'_Hey,' a familiar voice instantly shattered his thoughts. He opened his mahogany eyes with a small gasp. _

'_What is it?' he asked curiously, turning away from his meditation._

'_Knight's been looking everywhere for you and I thought I might find you here.'_

_The king stepped off the platform and sat at the bottom of the stairs. 'Oh,' he said simply, hiding his irritation at being interrupted because of Knight._

'_You don't look so good… What were you doing just now?' The girl asked with a worry creasing her forehead._

'_Using that thing you were teaching me before,' he confessed quietly running a hand through his dark locks. _

'_Oh?' _

_The king instantly looked away, his eyes falling to the stones at his feet. 'I'm sorry about what I did earlier. I guess I didn't stop to consider your feelings when I asked you to help me out like that.' An image of her upset face, her shaking body, her watering eyes. 'Don't make me do anymore readings!' she had begged him. _

_The girl realized his concern and blushed lightly. 'That's okay. I guess I was a little hysterical. Pretty pathetic, huh? '_

'_Not really,' he looked up to smile lightly at her. 'But I realized I should keep trying to do that thing you showed me. It's called dowsing, isn't it?'_

'_Yeah…' she answered hesitantly._

'_Now if I remember correctly, you can see the unseen if you concentrate on it, right?' his dark eyes got a little excited as he declared, 'I've decided I'm not going to just use Escaflowne anymore, but from now on, I'm going to get it to…' he paused as if to steady himself. Brushing hair out of his eyes, he glanced up at the Guymelef proudly. 'I'm going to get it to obey my thoughts. If I do that, I'll be able to pilot it better. I'm not going to use it. I'm going to become it when I fight.'_

'_But-but…' she stuttered, not knowing what else to say. He leapt off the remaining stairs and walked towards her. _

'_I don't know if I…' he froze, realizing what he was saying. Stopping in place, the king regarded her innocent green eyes as they widened with confusion and worry. The words had naturally strangled in his throat as he tried to express his feelings. Just by looking into her face, the king somehow knew he'd just stopped himself from making a terrible mistake. _

_As an unnatural amount of time passed between them as his brain tried to kick back into gear. He broke his stare and walked away from her without saying another word. She called after him briskly, which only made it worse._

_Regardless all of his courage on the battlefield, the king did the only thing he could think to do:_

_He ran out of there as fast as he could." _

Sounds like how I used to be in high school… Van admitted with an inward laugh.

"Does he really have feelings for her…?" Nurse said in surprise. "Awe, that's actually kind of sweet…"

Hey! King is my bet! You wanted the sissy, princess-banger for God only knows why! Back off!

"_As the girl watched his retreating form with bewilderment, her shoulders dropped and she turned back to glance up at the Escaflowne sitting alone. She blinked as the pink energist suddenly gave a random pulse. _

_Her vision clicked and she gasped._

_The sky rained with crimson tears. Broken arrows in corpses, mechas flaming. The world was drenched in red… no… it was drinking in the red. But there was more blood to be spilt. She turned and saw a tall figure standing before the destruction. The Duke, his eyes gray, his face splattered with dripping down from his forehead. He was shot full of arrows, yet still standing before her. A future phantom. His blank eyes flicked into hers and she saw it. The faint spark of a pink jewel. _

'_Oh… Duke of Freid…' she whimpered. His body began to sink lower and lower, slipping into the underground. _

_Her knees collided with the stone floor and the pain woke her. Gasping for breath, she held her hands before her eyes. 'Red rain…' drops of red rested on her skin. As the vision slipped further from her mind, the drops disappeared. _

_Outside, the rain was finally beginning to stop. The sun followed swiftly and Knight stopped walking through the corridor to glance outside. Feeling someone watching him, he looked back to see Prince Chid staring up into his face. A moment passed between them. Knight's blue eyes turned soft before he closed them swiftly and bowed. _

_Chid passed him by without another word. _

_The gathering forces had amassed once more. Zaibach, their fleet of Guymelefs, stood at the precipice of the crater. A wordless motion from the commander and the army began to move. _

_A flicker of a pendant in her mind, she gasped. 'It's begun…' she whispered, standing up from her seat. The girl's eyes stared forward seeing the unseen. 'The battle has begun…'_

_At her words, one of Knight's crew members came running through the doors screeching, 'Sarge, they're coming! That Zaibach swine are on the move!'_

'_Okay,' Gadeth said, his shoulders straightening. 'If the enemy breaches the third line, prep the ship. We'll defend the temple to the death! Understood?!'_

'_YES SIR!' they all shouted as one. _

_Back in the furthest corners of the temple, where only a little cat girl could climb to, Merle sat before a tall statue holding a waxing moon spearhead. It's blank, cold face was a void of emotion. 'God?' Merle's small voice piped up. 'You're God, right? I beg you. Please, oh, please protect my lord. Protect him so that he can come back safe from the battle. Please, God… protect my lord… keep him safe…' _

_The Zaibach Guymelefs came streaming forth as one. Standing in their way was the Zegot front line followed by the White Dragon Escaflowne. Stomping together, they met blade for blade, each tearing the other apart. Men screamed, men cried, men roared with the fury of battle. Through the haze of smoke and exhaust, they battled. _

_A cremma claw slipped forward and the king tossed to the left and sliced the Guymelef. At his feet below him, Zegot men stabbed and bled in messy piles of growing blood. Knight's Guymelef flipped his blade up to slash the arm off of a mecha. His blue eyes glazed to the right and he hissed, 'They've broken through.'_

_Everywhere, the cremma claws jumped out to snag one, two, sometimes three Zegot Guyemelfs at a time. The Duke charged forward in his golden Guymelef; his frontline, excepting the Ispano, all but diminished. _

'_Curse, you, Zaibach scum!' he roared out. _

_A scarlet mecha slipped into view with the strike of a poisonous viper. 'Duke Freid!' Dilandau shrieked tossing one of his guardsmen aside and advancing to the left. 'Out of my way!' Striking down yet another guardsman who had risen up to protect the Duke, the dragon slayer leader lifted a foot to crush the soldier further. 'You like that? Well, I'm just getting started!'_

_He caught the Duke's blade just in time and leaded forward for a stab. The claw caught the golden Guymelef in the chest and the Duke felt the circuits cutting short on the left arm. Dilandau sliced up and the arm fell to the ground. 'Oh, I'm enjoying this!' he screeched as he stabbed the other side and the right arm fell loosely at the Duke's side. _

'_I'll cut you-' a soldier screamed before he too fell with a cremma claw in the face. _

'_No!' the Duke yelled as the cremma claws then turned back to his wrecked Guymelef. They latched on to his control chamber and dug deeply. Breaking open the hatch, the Duke's screaming face could be seen from inside. The Guymelef fell forward, useless._

'_You're mine!' Dilandau yelled bringing the claw up and down swiftly for a final attack. Sparks hit as his blade stopped on the edge. A blue Guymelef had dove over the Duke's fallen mecha. _

_Knight…_

'_Ugh, not you again…' the boy groaned._

'_Duke! I'll handle this! Get clear!' Knight demanded from his Guymelef. Seeing the advancing claws, Knight lifted his left arm to deflect and they broke off his hand. They were soon once again caught in a stand-off of blades._

_The Duke stood from his Guymelef, watching with eyes of comprehension._

'_My Duke!' a soldier bowed to him. 'Please, fall back to the temple!' _

'_Don't worry,' the ruler said simply. 'It's all clear to me now… the gods want the power of Atlantis revived…'"_

"Okay, what?" Nurse stopped in obvious frustration. "I'm sorry, Mr. Fanel, but I have to vent right now. This stupid Duke tells his son Chid to protect the power or secret or treasure – bah, whatever it is with his life and now he's saying, 'yeah, sure, I've been wrong this entire time. My bad, guys! The gods are like; 'go ahead, man', so you guys can have this lifelong secret thing that really is my only job to protect and I'll just chill back here while you take over my country, okay?' This is so retarded! How could someone just switch on a dime and say something like that?"

This is why it's called a book, Nurse. It's not real. I do admire the sarcasm in your voice though, Van thought with a chuckle.

"Are you as frustrated as me!?"

YES - But not really. If I say YES you might not hurt me…

"_The Duke stood tall, his voice self-assured. 'The gods… They want Gaea to undergo that trial. They shall have it then. I will give Zaibach that power. With the power of Atlantis is the power of human will. Atlantis may have been destroyed by that power, but Gaea may not necessarily meet that fate.' He increased the volume in his voice. 'We shall now march forward to our own destiny and our children shall lead the way to that bright future! Hear this! I entrust everything to that future. I alone shall shoulder the burden of the past. I die with it. Look after Chid. I place the future in his hands. His path will be difficult, but I know he will persevere for Chid is my son.'_

_Meanwhile, the scarlet mecha was spinning in a violent dance. Dilandau stabbing and thrusting his cremma claw blades over and over at the blue Guymelef. As much as Knight tried to avoid damage, he could not avoid the entire onslaught. Just as Dilandau raised for another strike, he was blocked once again – _

_This time, by a white Guymelef. _

'_I'll handle this!' the king announced with a growl. 'Protect the Duke!'_

'_No!' Knight shouted, but he was too late._

_Raising his blade, the king broke the stand-off with Dilandau and he felt the pendant swing to his rear. Twisting immediately, he sliced off a claw that was bearing down on him. He was a touch too late for an attack on his right and a tip of a claw grazed the Escaflowne's armor. Inside the control chamber, the king felt the sting of a knife dragging on his skin. _

_Knight slipped out of his Guymelef, his blue eyes searching widely for the Duke. As he caught sight, he couldn't believe it. _

_The Duke stood, his sword held high in the air before the Zaibach enemy. 'I am the heart of Freid. If it's glory you want, face me! That's right; I am the Duke of Freid!' _

'_Duke Freid!' Knight roared in panic. The Duke glanced at him with eyes glazed over. _

_And then it happened. The arrows of the enemy pierced his body from neck to groin. He was littered with holes that spilled tiny rivers down his legs and feet. He felt his body slip away as he fell to the ground. The images of his life playing rapidly in his head. His darling Marlene lying on the bed. 'My Duke, you'll forgive me, won't you?' her soft voice echoed in his head. 'I wanted to be with you longer, but I couldn't help it. I fell deeply in love with you, my lord. My precious love…' _

_His last words gasped from his last breath: _

'_Marlene…'_

'_Oh, no!' Knight gasped, moving to run to his aid. He was caught from behind by a strong soldier. _

'_Knight, no!'_

'_What are you doing?!'_

'_Listen, our fight is over. In the end, it was the Duke's decision. You've got to understand, my lord. Please understand!' _

_Knight fell still and the man let him go. His long blond hair fell over his face._

_And he wept. _

_A spark of a twisting gear and the king stabbed through yet another Guymelef. The metal wreckage at his feet two-fold._

_The silver-haired boy sat, his Guymelef damaged, his body shaking. 'Is he some kind of demon…' he whispered as he watched the white Guymelef stand victorious once more. _

'_Dilandau,' a voice spoke through the communicator sharply. Stratego. 'The dragon slayers are to fall back. Duke Freid is dead. This battle is over. Your job can wait.' _

_In the back of his mind, Dilandau felt the shudder of relief. Then his eyes narrowed in pride. 'Guess I'll have to have my fun later.' Activating his stealth cloak, he slipped out of sight. _

_Back at the floating fortress, the dispatcher announced, 'The dragon slayers are returning.'_

'_Good,' Stratego said. 'Send a message to General Adolphus. In the name of Emperor, we will now enter peace negotiations. Full and complete authority will be given over to me.'_

_At the empty throne room of Fortuna, a small figure now occupied the seat in his father's place. A single bowing figure was before him._

'_Well done, Kiya,' the prince's small voice rang out. 'I will obey father's last request.'_

_Gadeth stepped forward from his left. 'Highness, with all due respect we can still fight. I know the commander can-' _

'_Thank you, Gadeth,' the boy turned to smile up at him comfortingly. 'I will never forget the friendship you have shown me, but this decision was something my father gave his life for. I will endure this ordeal and rebuild Freid.'_

'_I'm glad, Prince Chid,' the girl nodded. _

'_You taught me that, remember? That your dreams will always come true. I won't cry anymore. I promised Father. I'm Freid's ruler now. I've got to grow up.'_

_The hours passed and the battle was officially declared over. _

_With the entirety of the Zaibach fleet behind his back, Stratego stepped forward to the little Prince. He knelt, his dark cloak dragging on the dusty ground. _

'_I wish to pay homage to your valor, Prince Chid. This senseless fighting has finally come to an end.' _

'_Lord Stratego, you will promise to keep your word, won't you?'_

'_If his majesty would be so good as to give us a token of his friendship…' Stratego stated boldly looking the child square in the eye. 'We won't interfere with the airship until as such time as she leaves the Duchy of Freid. Now then… your token of friendship.'_

_Holding the heavy blade up with both hands, the boy announced, 'The Ruler of Freid, Chid zar Freid, now trusts this sacred sealed sword unto the Zaibach Empire as a sign of our friendship.'_

_The airship left the crater behind and Knight's eyes were casually glued to the window. Suddenly, footsteps pounded up the steps._

'_Bad news, boss!'_

'_Why? What's wrong?' Gadeth called out sharply._

'_Well… it's the king! He won't come out of the Escaflowne!'_

_The girl looked up with fear striking her heart as Knight shouted, 'WHAT?'_

'_It hasn't moved since he brought it into the hanger! No sign of life!' _

_Merle stood at the feet of the Ispano Guymelef, her eyes shedding tear after tear._

'_Something's wrong! Oh, my lord, say something! MY LORD!'_

_The Guymelef stood still, unmoving._

_Drops splashed into a growing red puddle underneath the mecha._

_Drops of blood from crooked, stagnant fingers..."_

She shut the book.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

"Whoa, Mr. Fanel! Please, calm down! He can't die! He won't! He's pretty much the main character!" Nurse said desperately. He felt small hands on his arm and chest. "Please, try to calm down your heart monitor before another nurse comes in here to check on you!"

NO. NO. NO. NO. NO.

"I know he's your favorite, but that's where the chapter ends!"

NO. NO. NO. YOU HEARTLESS WENCH! You do not stop there! Not THERE of all places!

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Fanel! I know, I know, but this happened to me with Knight, remember?"

WHERE'S THE KING'S PLOT ARMOR, HUH? Oh wait, the ESCAFLOWNE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HIS PLOT ARMOR! DAMN GUYMELEF PIECE-OF-SHIT!

"Seriously, please try to calm down. Your blood pressure has risen. You have to not get so worked up. It's just a book, remember? Just a book…"

You don't understand, Nurse! I look forward to this book! It's the best part of my day! Sure, it's stupid as hell sometimes, but that's my favorite character's life on the line and now I have to wait?!

"Your brainwaves are all over the place," she said helplessly. Her hand stayed on his arm, rubbing his forearm gently. "I am so sorry, Mr. Fanel. I really didn't mean to upset you. It's where the chapter ended and I've got to be headed back to work. If it helps, I'll take Jessica's spot for tomorrow. That way you don't have to wait so long!"

Hearing her pleas, Van tried to calm down. She was willing to forgo her day off just to make sure his character was still alive. She was going to keep going with the story just because he was upset. As Nurse left that night finally pacified that Van wouldn't rage his vitals out of control, he slowly began to realize something.

She was going to refuse a night with Allen just to read to him.

Did that mean she'd rather be with him than the pretty boy? She'd rather read to a fully paralyzed man who could only say YES or NO rather than have a date with some stuck up, over-privileged loser?

Judging the fact that she cleaned his messy sheets every day, Van snorted to himself.

He was a damned fool.

And yet he couldn't help himself.

Book: 3

Allen: 2

Yukari: 1

Van: 1

* * *

He had waited too long.

He had to go now.

He had to go or they'd kill him, too.

Sex, money, power…

They were watching him as he left the building.

They were watching him as he strolled out on the street.

He felt the wind run down his coat and chill his spine.

It was cold. It was going to be cold for a longer while yet.

He reached up to pat his concealed pocket.

There wasn't a gun this time.

But something far worse.

* * *

He had one of those nights where he was asleep, but he knew he was dreaming.

Not quite a night terror, but very close to it.

Perhaps it was his constant heart monitor beeping his sub-consciousness back into reality.

_Beep, beep, beep_

He dreamed he was standing outside the shiny building that housed his masterpiece. He used to casually flick through the files of requests for his company with barely a blink of an eye. He had experts. He had geniuses. And they were his to command.

He was wearing his only polished suit he owned. He could afford more, but the one was perfect for clientele meetings.

Oh, he used to love that suit.

_Beep, beep, beep_

Van felt his control slipping inside the dream…

It was because of them. That company. That one little catch on credit card fraud. He'd sent an agent to investigate the claim.

The agent went missing. Then everyone went missing.

His dream-self blinked and turned on foot. He saw his beautiful building in flames. A boiling, raging fire that seared his life. Two of his people died in that fire. Arson, they'd announced in the aftermath. Yet somehow no one could trace the source.

Just before the fire, the arsonist had attempted to steal his information, but Van had hid a virus in the files… a worm. He'd always used it as a defense.

For once, he was a step ahead.

_Beep, beep, beep_

He had what he needed. He had documented proof to nail their coffin.

But he wanted more. He had to find more. The worm he'd set up in their systems gave him more. It worked like a dream. They never found it and his back-up files were filled to the brim with schedules, names... execution orders...

But then… only a day later... before he had time to react...

An order… for execution…

Execution… for _him_…

Van tried to fight his night terror. He knew what happened next. But he couldn't fight it. He couldn't open his eyes.

Van's dream-self walked down the blackening street, his purpose for the walk unclear.

He should have known! He _knew_ what he was up against and he should have known what was coming for him! He had the proof right in his fingers.

His face was lost in thought, not registering the shadows all around him wavering dangerously.

He should have known.

_Beep, beep, beep_

A man with a dark hood stepped out from the shelter of his mind, pulled the gun from his waistband, and fired three shots. The man's face was unclear, but his hand shook.

Van knew the man who shot the gun.

Betrayal.

_Beep, beep, beep_

_BANG, BANG, BANG_

Two in the skull and the other shot missed his right ear by inches.

Van was down. He was bleeding.

And he realized how fruitless it had all been.

_Beep, beep, beep_

There was a noise in his room.

It woke him instantly from his night terror.

It was the sound of his door quietly opening.

It wasn't time for his check-up or rehabilitation. It certainly wasn't time for Nurse to read. He listened intently as the stranger breathed heavily, crossing the floor to his right side.

And for the first time since he'd woken from the gun…

Van felt the familiar chill of fear.

It was him… he had come again...

Brother…

* * *

"Where is he!?" Hitomi cried, throwing down her jacket and tossing her heavy purse aside. "Is he stable? What's happened!? The police are everywhere!"

Yukari's jaw dropped in surprise as she straightened up from the computer. "Hitomi! You got here so fast-"

"Where is Mr. Fanel?" She shouted shrilly, running around the desk to her friend. Grabbing the auburn head's shoulders, she couldn't stop her panic. "You said he had to be resuscitated! He died! What happened?"

"Hitomi, you have to calm down! He's stable! He's stable, okay? He got moved to security ICU for precautionary measures!" Yukari answered her dark eyes growing wide. She'd never seen her friend so emotional over a patient. As the tears of relief began to slip down Hitomi's green eyes, Yukari grabbed her friend and hugged her tightly.

"Please, calm down. Everyone is watching." She whispered in her ear. "Let's go to the locker room and put your stuff up. Maybe we can head up to ICU to see him."

"..O-okay…"

* * *

"The killer left through the window. He has to be pretty agile because we're on the second floor. The code blue was signaled and the team worked on him for only a few minutes before he came back to us. It is unclear how much this has affected his brain. He may have slipped back into the coma."

"What happened to him? What did that guy try to do to him?" Hitomi asked through a stuffed nose walking beside her friend and entering the elevator. She stared at the floor with bloodshot eyes.

Yukari pressed floor six and her face tensed, "He came in with a syringe hidden in his coat pocket…"

Hitomi blanched. "A syringe? Of what?"

Her friend hesitated. "From the call I got from forensics before you showed up… a concocted mixture of barbiturate laced with a paralytic and potassium solution."

Hitomi's face paled and she felt sick. She had to lean against the wall.

"_Euthanasia_…how-how was he resuscitated? That's lethal…"

"That's the thing. The guy never used it. Jessica found the syringe on the floor right beside Mr. Fanel just before the resuscitation team showed up. It looks as though he decided to use a pillow to try and suffocate him instead. He signed his name as Newton according to the guest chart. The police are checking into it - though it's probably a stolen or faked name. If this Newton attacker keeps coming after Mr. Fanel… that's a scary thought. I wonder if the hospital will be safe with him being a patient here."

"Why would they be hunting him down? Mr. Fanel has nothing on record that would make him a target."

"I don't know, Hitomi. Mr. Fanel is just a patient. We aren't given classified information like if he was in the black market. He is practically a stranger. The only thing that matters is he has credible insurance."

"Yeah… I guess you're right…" Hitomi softly bit her lip and turned her green eyes to watch the counter click up to six.

* * *

He was here.

He hadn't been, but now… he knew where he was again.

He was here.

He was here.

_Beep, beep, beep_

He was here.

Voices muffled all around him. His ears didn't want to focus on any voice in particular. It didn't really matter. He didn't care to hear.

He just listened to the beep of his heart. The steady beat that reminded him he was here.

He was here.

_Beep, beep, beep_

He was here.

"Please…"

_Beep, beep, beep_

"Please, let me get by…"

Van stirred.

"I need to see him!"

A familiar voice broke through the muffled ambiance of his slurring world. His head moved to follow…that voice…

"Miss, I need you to wait outside the room."

"No, I'm his registered caretaker! Please let me through!"

She came. She came to see him…

She was here.

_Beep, beep, beep_

She was here.

"ICU is checking him over. You need to get back to your ward-"

"My patient was attacked, sir. I want to see him."

With a soft groan escaping his closed lips, Van struggled to open his eyes. They twitched, but remained unmoved.

"I will not tell you again-"

"Just listen to me-"

His mouth opened and his throat was dry.

His eyes flickered.

And he finally said his first word in weeks:

"… nuhhhk…"

There was a long silence that followed. Then footsteps running to his bedside.

"Mr. Fanel? Mr. Fanel, can you hear me? Can you talk to me?" Her voice was on his left, hopeful and tearful at the same time.

"Ma'am, you are not part of ICU-"

"Nuuuuurrrrk…" Van tried again. His tongue was swollen from disuse. He still couldn't open his eyes.

"Nurk?" she whispered. "Nurk…Nurse…? Nurse! Are you trying to say 'nurse'?" she asked. He felt a small hand touch his bicep softly. "Are you asking for me?"

Where's that brainwave machine? YES. YES. YES.

"Ye…" he responded and then coughed through his tight throat.

The ICU doctor had gotten quiet as Nurse's grabbed a towel from a nearby sink and Van felt it gently dab on his mouth and chin.

Oh, Jesus, he was drooling, wasn't he?

"I'm here, Mr. Fanel. I'm here with you. I'll be here."

Her voice was fading away.

Like a dream.

Like a dove.

He gave one small nod.

And then passed out.

* * *

He was moved back to long-term care after two days in the ICU.

Van's speech had barely improved from 'nuuuuhhk'.

He had to relearn how to swallow and move his tongue. He hadn't realized how much of the tongue was used for speech. It was frustrating, but at least he wasn't on the brainwave crap anymore. He could nod and shake his head perfectly fine.

And he could keep his eyes open for ten minute intervals. Dryden, who Van now saw had long curly brown hair and a crooked smile, said it was a matter of muscle fatigue. He could move his fingers very slowly and wiggle his big toes. The man was surprised Van had made such a quick recovery after his asphyxiation.

Apparently, it 'restarted the body' so to speak.

There was a lot of debate on what to do if the killer came back for him. There very well might be other causalities next time. They gave him two options: The first was to up security on him personally – a man standing watch outside his door twenty-four/seven and following him constantly or Van move to another – more secure - hospital altogether.

Van instantly voted to up the security. He could never move to another hospital.

He had yet to see Nurse.

Her friend, Yukari, told him she had been given a week's suspension for her blatant disregard for ICU authority and security. Van wanted to fling the contents of his bedpan at every single one of those idiots. Even though it was the lowest level of punishment available for hospital staff, no one should ever discipline someone as caring and kind as Nurse.

He knew for certain that if it wasn't for her, he probably would be back in the coma. If it wasn't for her companionship, he'd have never followed her voice.

If it wasn't for her, he'd have stopped trying a long time ago.

* * *

"Sit down, Hitomi," the blond woman gestured to the chair in front of her desk. The green-eyed woman rubbed the back of her short hair nervously before crossing the floor and perching on the soft cushion. Millerna casually tapped on her iPad and then set the darkening screen on the desk with a sigh.

"You know why I called you, right?"

"Not really… my suspension week is up in four more days…"

"True," Millerna smiled gently. "But you see, I've been talking with the nurses in this ward and it looks as though you have been spending extra time in a patient's room. Mr. Fanel's room, specifically."

Hitomi swallowed, but refused to break eye contact. Straightening her back she said, "Yes, Millerna, I read to Mr. Fanel during my break time."

A blond eyebrow shot up. "You read to him? Whatever for?"

"I like to read out loud."

"So, you decided to disturb one of your patients in the middle of the night because you read out loud."

Hitomi was silenced at the question and the two women continued their unblinking stare.

"That neurologist over Mr. Fanel's care contacted me personally to say he wanted your suspension revoked." Her supervisor said quietly, leaning on the desk to lace her fingers together. "You are to be reinstated as Mr. Fanel's caretaker beginning with the nightshift tonight."

A sigh of relief broke from her mouth and the green-eyed girl smiled, "Oh, thank you, Millerna!"

"That's not all, Nurse Kanzaki."

Halting her inner celebration, Hitomi waited.

"Jessica mentioned to me that you have taken her nightshift quite a bit in the past few weeks. I am guessing this is because you are enjoying the book with Mr. Fanel?" her boss asked curiously.

"He has been improving quite a bit since we started it." Hitomi nodded, choosing her words carefully.

Another gracious smile adorned Millerna's lips. "In that case, Nurse Kanzaki, I want you to take _three_ hours instead of two for your break. I expect to see you tonight, in full scrub attire, at eight o'clock sharp. You are dismissed."

"Ye-Yes, ma'am." Hitomi got up to leave, hardly believing her good fortune.

"Oh, and nurse?"

"Ma'am?" she turned back with her heart in her throat.

"There will be a security guard stationed outside Mr. Fanel's room. Please try to read more quietly."

Letting out a small laugh, the short-haired girl left her boss' office.

And as the door shut, Millerna turned back to her iPad and leaned comfortably in her chair.

_A Girl from the Mystic Moon_ was on her eReader.

* * *

He was alive.

Of course he was.

He was in a damn hospital that monitored his vitals day and night.

He hadn't used it. He'd tried to find another way. He knew why everyone was so surprised. Why they whispered as he walked by.

He'd failed again.

The silver showed up, but she didn't approach him like she usually did. Her beautiful amber eyes looked him up and down.

"Not all of us are monsters," she whispered from the doorway. "Some of us are just messed up. Always have been, always will be. My sister and I blame our daddy. Rotten son-of-a-bitch, he was. That's a common story though – daddy issues. I know all about you. I was watching you from the very beginning. That's why I'm here. I know about that drawer. You hate it." Her eyes slipped over his shoulder to focus on the middle drawer.

The gun.

"If you are so messed up, then what am I?" he grunted to her.

She finally closed the door. Walking closer, she grabbed his shoulders and climbed to straddle his lap.

"You're just as messed up as the rest of us," she smirked tapping the side of his head gently with her long fingernail. "But there's something I like about you."

"And was' that?"

Reaching down, she unzipped his pants.

He was hard.

She laughed, her skirt slipping up on her thighs.

"You've got morals…"

* * *

The bandage on the side of his head was removed and he finally saw his appearance for the first time in weeks. His hair – which had always grown extremely fast – hung long on his neck and draped somewhat on his shoulders. He was glad they hadn't decided to give him a free haircut from the local salon-in-training while he was in his coma.

He actually kinda liked his new look.

He'd also been practicing all day. His eyes could stay open for thirty minutes now.

Though it was the simplest thing in the world to do, Van couldn't help the pride slipping over his shoulders like a hero's banner.

So to count: He could see, he could hold his head up with only minimal help from a pillow, he could move his arms and legs only inches at a time, and he could say 'Yek' and 'Nurk' and other mumbled words that kind of sounded right.

This doesn't seem like much, but hey, gotta make lemonade out of lemons, right?

Needless to say, despite almost dying, Van was in a pretty good mood.

It got even better later that evening.

Just as he had been dozing off, his door opened and he popped his eyes open. His vision focused on a slender woman walking in with light blue scrubs. Her head was turned away, concentrating on the shutting the door quietly.

A corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. He knew immediately who that was.

Even without her speaking.

Nurse.

She turned to him and gasped with a jump. "Oh, Mr. Fanel," she whispered in that sweet voice. "You're awake! And your bandage is gone!"

Against his pillow, Van nodded proudly.

"Yek."

Her eyes were brilliant green, so lovely and soft. She smiled, the joy stretching over blushing cheeks. She casually lifted a small hand and smoothed her short hair nervously. She really did have short hair! He _knew_ he liked short hair! It made her neck look longer. It showed off the smooth skin of her collarbones. Van always had a thing about the back of the neck on a woman. She did a little toss with her head and her fringe fell slightly to the side.

As she lowered her hand and looked shyly at him, he began to recall all the memories of her he'd only gotten through his other senses.

Her crying over that prick, Allen.

Her excitedly making a bet with him over T-bone steak.

Her panicked voice calling out to him as he was in ICU.

That warm feeling he'd felt just hearing her enter his room.

"I'm so happy to see you again."

"Yek."

"I brought the book. The king… remember?" she held up a large, hard-back book and Van finally saw the front cover. It had two overlapping moons and a picture of a white feather.

OH, wait a minute! That's right! The king was probably dead!

She crossed over and sat in the chair beside his bed. Cracking open the book, she brushed through a few pages. Van's eyebrows rose with concern and she giggled. "The king's in trouble, Mr. Fanel. Let's see what happened, shall we?"

Blinking happily, Van nodded three times and settled back to listen.

"'_Something's wrong! My lord, say something!' Merle bellowed out to the helmeted face. 'My lord!'_

_The girl ran up, followed by Knight and Gadeth. Knight's blue eyes slipped to the cock-pit. 'Blood's dripping from the control chamber!' he announced. _

_The girl ran swiftly to join Merle._

'_King! No! Can you hear me?' she shouted, reaching out a hand to touch the Escaflowne's leg. 'King, please, snap out of it, you idiot!'_

_A blood-soaked finger twitched at her words. The Ispano made a creaking noise. His dark eyebrow twitched. _

'_Please!' she begged wishing with all her might._

_In reaction to her wish, the energist jewel began to glow. The hatch to the control chamber opened and the king spilled out of the seat, falling to the ground like a rag-doll. _

'_Oh, god, no…' the girl cried, racing to his side immediately. He was completely covered in blood. Turning swiftly to Knight, she said, 'Please, help!'_

'_Gadeth, go get some help!' Knight ordered swiftly._

'_Yes, sir!'_

_Knight tilted his head to study the Guymelef. 'It's only the armor that was damaged, so how is he hurt so badly?' he thought with confusion. _

'_Stop, you should try to move,' the girl's voice was shaking with panic. Knight turned to see the king trying to rise to his feet. He stood trembling, his teeth gritting, his blood dripping, and faced the open dock. His foggy eyes focused on the crater of Fortuna, the last battle of Freid. _

_He had lost._

_No. He hadn't lost. _

_He can't lose._

'_I… can still… fight…' he gasped, his feet dragging over the floor. He didn't need them to be with him. He could do it on his own. He didn't need Knight or the girl or anybody. He could fly there himself…_

'_I… can…'_

_The back of his shirt began to stretch._

'_No, don't!' the girl cried._

'_Please!' Merle shrieked. _

_The king screamed as his white wings burst from his back; ripping his shirt apart. They stretched long and wide over the hanger. His white feathers tossed into the air, littering the area. _

'_He has wings!' princess cried out from the doorway cradling her medicinal bag. _

'_He's… he's a Draconian…' Knight whispered in awe. _

_The wings slowly dissipated into the air, leaving behind wisps of white feathers. The king's vision was slowly leaving him. _

_As he fell forward, the last image he saw was of the girl's worried face running to his side."_

"You see, Mr. Fanel! He's still alive after all!" She grinned.

"Yek."

"_The levee ship continued to move due south. Night had come and a hush had fallen over the crowd around the king's bloodstained cot. His wounds wrapped in dripping crimson gauze, he trembled from pain and fever. The girl sat by his side, her hands collapsed over her necklace in prayer while the princess' expert hands continually changed the soaked bandages. _

_Knight sat in a chair a few feet away, his hand rubbing his temple. _

'_I can hardly believe that he's a Draconian…' one of the crewmates whispered audibly. _

'_First the power of Atlantis… now a Draconian…' Knight thought, his blue eyes frozen in disbelief over the king's broken body. 'Why now? Why is everything around me making me think… of him…?'_

_The princess' beautiful face tensed as she held his bleeding wrist. 'His pulse is erratic. If we don't help him, he won't make it.'_

'_Oh no…' the girl whispered horrified._

'_Come on! You're a healer! Why don't you do something?!' Merle wailed at the woman. _

'_I don't know what to do! These wounds aren't even normal. It's as if they were made from the inside! They won't close. Escaflowne's control chamber was intact, wasn't it?' the princess asked shakily. _

_The girl gasped suddenly, her green eyes going wide. 'Oh! The Escaflowne!' She took off towards the doorway. The sound of the door slamming shut startled Knight out of his dark thoughts and he watched curiously as the girl ran out of sight. _

_Racing down the hallway into the hanger, the girl stopped short as she spied the Escaflowne. Her eyes searched through the darkness: damage on the head, the right arm, both legs, trenching scraped on the chest and stomach…_

'_They're the same wounds…' she realized. And then she remembered. Holding his hands to the Guymelef, his wish to not just pilot the Escaflowne, but to become it…_

_Become it through dowsing…. _

_But what if…_

_Oh, no… what if he went too far…?_

'_You ran off,' Knight said panting as he approached her. 'What is it?' _

'_I… I understand… he feels them…' she whispered. She turned to Knight with wide eyes in realization. 'Don't you see? He merged with the Escaflowne! So, if we don't fix Escaflowne now… he'll… h-he'll…' she was violently shaking. She didn't want to believe it, but it was true. She knew it in her heart. _

'_Knight! He's going to die!'_

'_How could that be…?'_

'_Commander!' Gadeth's voice echoed from the doorway. 'We've spotted an Austurian Convoy.'"_

"I wonder who that is," Nurse mused out turning a page. She glanced up and gave him another happy smile. "See? King's still alive at least. He's just… _almost_ dead…"

Van finally did something he had wanted to do for weeks and weeks.

He rolled his eyes.

"_Deep in the Convoy, he reclined on his soft couch, his lips touching the glass briefly in a never-felt kiss. A beautiful face looked back at him with soft dark eyes full of gratitude. The tail of a fish, the lacy wings of a water-sprite, and the loveliest lush of jet green hair he'd ever seen. A prize he'd bought, and yet another purchase he'd have to give away. _

_Sometimes he was just too much of a softy for beautiful things. _

'_You have to go back to your sea-home. It's time to say goodbye, Misty.'_

_She mumbled something inaudibly through the glass, her eyes wide and sad._

'_Mermaids belong in the sea. And they always should be smiling,' he grinned cheekily at her. 'So, don't get caught again.' _

_Her expression changed slowly to a small smile. _

_He stood with a groan, 'You might not be so lucky next time, but if you do get caught, tell them you're a friend of Merchant.'_

_Taking the stairs down to his lavishly decorated hold, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes as his accountant met him on the bottom step and squeaked: 'You spent a pretty penny on that mermaid, young master. How can you just throw her back? I think you've gone completely out of your mind. Lord Meiden'll have my head for this, you know.'_

'_Eh, come on, don't be such a money grabber,' the man said easily, brushing his brown curling locks out of his eyes and replacing his sunglasses on his nose. 'Beautiful things belong in a natural environment.' Strolling to the window, he blinked and smirked. 'Hey, don't I know that ship?'_

'_They wish to see the young master,' the accountant came bustling up. _

'_You're… Merchant… aren't you?' a bright voice echoed from the other doorway. The man turned and tilted his head openly eyeing her up and down. _

'_Hmmm…? And you might be…?'_

_Her long blond hair pinned back in a bow, her hands laced in front of her body, Princess took several steps more into the hold. _

'_Ah!' the accountant spoke up, 'She is the beautiful third princess of Austuria.'_

_His lips curled into a seductive grin."_

"Nurk?"

"Oh! You probably don't remember that part!" Nurse said quickly. "I think this is the princess' fiancé from before. You know the one they talked about at the dinner party in Austuria? Meiden's son?"

"….Nurk?"

She laughed at his face. "You're hopeless."

_The girl gasped as she looked at the Convoy from the window. "'Princess' fiancé? But isn't he the-'_

'_Yes.' Knight said shortly. 'The son of Meiden. The man who tried to kidnap you.'"_

"Yeeek…"

"Yeah! The gecko ninja guys and the submarine!"

"Yek, yek, yek…" he nodded his head. That's right. That was back before the king had wings…

Those were better times…

"'_Isn't someone like that a little dangerous?' she asked worriedly._

'_Yes, but if we pick his brain, we may be able to save the king.' _

_Meanwhile back on the Convoy, Princess stood in Merchant's vast library; her blue eyes scanning each impressive exotic title. _

'_So, Princess…' the man swaggered up to her clutching a steaming cup of tea. 'How do you like my study? Here,' he put the cup down in front of her._

'_Oh, thank you very-'_

_He cut her off by grabbing her hand and placing it on his warm chest. 'It's pounding hard, isn't it? To be frank, I thought five years ago you were just a wild tomboy. I'm impressed you've grown into such a beautiful princess.' Lifting the hand he was holding he placed a small kiss on the back of it before she wrenched it out of his grasp. _

'_Well, Merchant, I must admit, you've grown into quite a handsome man,' she said through clenched teeth and closed eyes._

'_Hey! Do you really think so?' he gave her a lopsided smile. _

'_I make it a habit never to lie,' she said without looking at him. _

'_Wonderful!' He shouted happily, waving his arm in the air. 'Go back to Austuria and get married right now!'_

'_Is-Isn't this a little sudden?' she cried._

'_There's nothing sudden about it. We've been betrothed almost forever, and if you come with me, I'm a wealthy man who's business is booming, my intellect is second to none,' he lowered his glasses and winked at her suggestively, 'and I'm not so bad in the looks department.'_

_He stepped closer, his face only an inch from her nose. 'Don't you think, princess?' he whispered lowly. _

'_Oh… Ah… Merchant…'_

'_Hmmm?'_

'_I'm so sorry…' she mumbled._

_His face spelled surprise, then he stood laughing, 'I guess there's the matter of one being ready to take the big plunge! Well, haste does make waste, or so I've been told, but I assume you didn't come here to talk about that.' Grabbing her cup of tea, he sat on the ladder used to reach his high bookshelf and sighed, 'Let's cut to the chase.'_

'_Oh,' she didn't know how to feel. Relief? Definitely. Surprise? Still there. Regret… _

'_O-Of course,' she answered swiftly._

_Back at the crater in Fortuna, floating fortresses lined the entire cavern. Inside the broken temple, Stratego stood still, his dark eyes fixed on the stone table in the inner chamber. 'All that's left now is to break the seal,' he whispered, his mouth forming a firm line._

_A soldier came up behind him and whispered in his ear. _

_A hot spike of anger flickered in his belly as he listened. The soldier backed away bowing and Stratego whispered, 'How dare you, Dilandau… How dare you…'_

_Behind his back, the dragon slayers flew off in hot pursuit of the levee ship; in the lead was the scarlet Guymelef. Red eyes narrowing with laughter, Dilandau pushed on his communicator, 'Sorry, Stratego, we're in the power spot, so now I'm going to do things MY way!' _

_Meanwhile on the unsuspecting levee ship, the Merchant had just stepped through the door to the hanger when he gasped in delight._

'_Oh just look! It's an Ispano Guymelef!' Helping himself, he climbed immediately to the control chamber and snarled, 'AH, look at the damage! Those damn samurai!' Slipping over the right shoulder, he whistled, 'Hey! What's that?' Under the cape, muffled, 'Oh, that's so cool!' Sticking his head into the helmet, shouted, 'Wow! Look at that!' _

_Amidst his declarations of 'awesomes!' and 'wows!', his accountant bounced on the floor with choruses of, 'young master, don't touch that!' and 'young, master, be careful!' The rest of the group just watched in surprise. _

'_So… that's Merchant… is he okay?' the girl asked worriedly. She glanced at the princess who was looking out the window in avoidance. _

'_Yeah…' Knight grunted. _

'_So, I guess the legends are true,' Merchant said softly, perched on the Guymelef's knee._

'_What do you mean, my lord?' Knight asked._

'_Nah, forget the lord stuff, okay? I'm just a simple man.'_

'_When are you going to stop wasting all our time?' Knight snarled._

_The brown-haired man's smile dropped. Pushing up his glasses, he said, 'According to the ancient texts, the Ispano Guymelef's curse their operators by killing them.'_

'_They do what!?'_

'_They kill them…' the girl whispered._

'_The Ispano clan accumulated the knowledge of Atlantis. They chose the masters of the Guymelefs by blood pact. The person remains the master until his death. In some occasions, the Guymelef will take control of the fight. When the Guymelef is damaged and falls, its master falls as well.'_

_The memory of the king's words came back to haunt the girl: 'I'm not going just use Escaflowne. From now on, I'm going to get it to obey my thoughts.' She remembered that long stare he'd given her just before he'd ran away. _

'_I don't know if I…' he'd never finished his sentence. And now he was dying._

_And it was all because of her."_

Damn right, it was all because of her! She refused to help with her powers! Stupid girl!

"'_It's my entire fault.' She murmured quietly, feeling the guilt heavy on her shoulders. 'I showed him how.'_

'_You showed him?' Knight asked her._

'_All you have to do is fix the Guymelef,' Merchant said easily. _

'_We can't handle a repair job this big.'_

'_Heh, that's okay,' the brown-haired man maneuvered around the back. 'These babies know how to phone home.' He reached back into the inner left thigh and flicked three various switches. Instantly a green light erupted from Escaflowne's helm. _

'_What did you do!?' Knight demanded._

'_I just called them.'_

'_Who?'_

_Merchant smirked and straightened up. 'Why, the Ispano clan, of course. The people who built Escaflowne.'_

_Almost instantaneously, a circle appeared in the sky on top of the Convoy and levee. It spanned two miles, blanketing the world below. _

_A portal. _

_A ship began to descend from the portal just as large as the circle. The mouth of the hold stopped short of the levee ship's hanger and the group stood in awe. _

'_It's enormous…' Knight gasped._

'_Ahhh, so that's the Ispano factory's mother ship,' Merchant grinned, straightening his glasses. _

_Inside the ship, gears twisted, steam hissed, and sparks flew. A continual chant of an ancient language echoed throughout the whistling, grinding machinery. Carted into the impressive workshop, the Escaflowne sat as strange cloaked men stood around it. They spoke in moans and guttural grunts, holding their arms wide. _

'_Uhhh, is this normal?' the girl hissed to Merchant._

'_They are confirming that it's really Escaflowne.'_

_As one, the little men immediately turned as one. One of them stepped out and held out his hand to Knight. _

'_Fifty million,' he said simply._

'_Fifty million!' Knight shouted._

'_Escaflowne repair bill.'_

'_B-But we don't have that!' The girl cried._

'_You can't pay? We leave.' Turning away, the man stood with his back turned._

'_Oh, Knight…' the girl whimpered._

'_No worries, guys. I'll pay for it.' Merchant stepped forward with a smirk."_

DEUS EX MACHINA RETURNS!

"'_Master! You're insane!' the accountant shrieked._

'_I'll give you my Convoy as well,' he said to the little Ispano. 'So, what do you say?'_

'_No, sir! Please, don't do this! It's taken you five years to accumulate that! And the Convoy is worth at least eighty million!'_

_Too late, Merchant slipped his house ring on his finger and smiled as he handed the promise over with his stamp in hot wax. 'Why must you do this to me…?' the accountant grumbled._

_The princess stepped forward, her disbelief keeping her quiet all this time. 'Merchant… we will never be able to pay you for something as generous as this.'_

'_Heh,' he leaned against the table, smiling crookedly, 'Royalty shouldn't have to worry about pinching pennies, okay? I just seem to have a soft spot for the king, that's all.'_

_Within minutes, the Ispano had taken out their tools and sparks began to fly all over the Escaflowne. Meanwhile, carried from the sick-bay, the screams of agony could be heard throughout the entire factory. His muscles twitched and trembled. The blood ran off his body in small rivers. Knight was the only one strong enough to hold him down. _

'_Bring some rope!' Knight roared as the king thrashed. 'We have to tie him down!'_

_As they tried to restrain him, Merchant looked on with curious brown eyes, 'He's feeling it… he's feeling the pain of the Escaflowne… I can hardly believe it!'_

'_Merchant,' the girl's voice was soft and scared. _

'_Don't worry. Once Escaflowne's repaired, his wounds will be healed. If,' his face twisted darkly. 'He can survive the pain, that is.'_

'_No, my lord…' Merle wailed clutching onto the girl's shirt. 'He's dying… he'd dying…'_

'_Just-Just be brave. It'll take-take more… It'll take more… than this to kill him,' as she said the words, she felt her legs give out and the cat-girl fell into her lap. 'It'll be okay. If anyone can make it, he can. You understand, Merle.'_

_The night had grown dark and ominous. A blanketing shadow that covered for miles and miles. Underneath this shadow, the little Prince Chid lifted the heavy sword with trembling arms and placed it on the stone tablet. Sparks began to fly as stone connected with stone, chains became unbroken and a brilliant white pillar of light rushed to meet the sky. _

'_So this is the power of Atlantis,' Stratego said softly._

_The light was also infecting a large tower deep in the Zaibach Empire. With an ancient eye peering into a telescope, the old man smiled elatedly. 'I can see it. The pulsing of my ideal future!'_

_Night dragged on and on, but eventually the world turns and morning finally broke over the land. The Ispano climbed down from the Escaflowne and the bandages were unwrapped from the king's body. _

_He was completely healed."_

"Yay!" Nurse broke away to cheer. "He's alright, see?"

Van, his body tired, just smiled at her and closed one eye into a satisfied wink. She blinked in surprise before returning his smile with one of her own.

"'_He's all better!' Princess announced in surprise. _

'_There isn't a scratch on 'em…' Gadeth whistled. _

_A blur of pink hair and the king was smashed back down to the bed. 'Oh, my lord! Thank goodness! Thank goodness you're alive!' _

'_Merle…' he said affectionately, reaching up to stroke her hair. 'Guess I scared you.'_

'_Huh, I can't believe that actually worked.' Merchant said surprised. The girl, standing in front of him, turned with a frown and he cleared his throat quickly, looking away._

'_It's… It's all because of you. Knight, you saved me again,' the king said to the blond, standing up with Merle latched onto his waist. _

'_Actually it's Merchant and her you should thank,' Knight nodded to the pair behind him. The king looked surprised as he turned and the girl's pale cheeks gave a hard blush. Merchant held up his hands. 'No way, it's all thanks to the little lady here, your majesty.'_

_The king took several steps closer in surprise. 'You…'_

'_I… I want you to be very careful in Escaflowne…' she said softly to him. 'Maybe-maybe you shouldn't pilot it anymore.'_

_His face hardened slightly. _

'_If Escaflowne is damaged, the same thing will happen again. If it's destroyed, you'll…'_

'_Yes, but I won't let anything happen to Escaflowne.' He said stiffly. _

'_But-'_

_She was cut off by the small Ispano approaching them. 'Fighters come! Ispano not involved. You leave!'_

'_It must be Zaibach!' Knight realized._

'_Let's go, Knight!' the king nodded and blinked in surprise as the little man stepped closer to him. _

'_Blood pact.' He said simply. 'You use Draconian blood. Ispano can't guarantee it.'_

_The king's eyes narrowed and the girl felt a shiver run down her spine. _

'_Can't guarantee it…?'_

_The Ispano left just in time. Now parked in the Convoy, the levee ship's alarms were beginning to sound off. _

_The dragon slayers were coming._

'_Don't you have any Guymelefs?' Knight roared at Merchant. _

'_Come on, get real. This is a trade ship, but if its display pieces you want, I'm your man!' _

_In the hanger, the girl latched onto king's arm to stop him from entering the Escaflowne. Unfortunately, her pleas were falling on deaf ears. 'Don't go! Let Knight and the others handle the fighting!'_

'_But they can't beat them in those Melefs!' The king snapped back. _

'_Please listen to her, my lord!' Merle wailed._

'_Remember, the Ispano worker said it, too! There can't be any guarantees! Don't pilot Escaflowne!'_

_Her green eyes connected into his deep mahogany. She didn't understand. Of course, she didn't. She was just seeing the Escaflowne as a dangerous tool. But the king… to the king, the Escaflowne was a way of protecting. She didn't understand that he HAD to go. He had to fight to take care of them._

_He had to fight to protect them both._

_Walking forward once more to the Guymelef, he felt the girl's hands and Merle's claws pulling on his shirt and shoulders. _

_They didn't understand!_

_With a grunt, he threw them off and onto the cold floor. 'Just forget it! I can handle Escaflowne!' he shouted at her worried face and he ran up the steps to the control chamber._

'_Oh, god… please…' the girl begged as she watched the Ispano Guymelef stand and make its way to the hatch. Standing up swiftly, she ran just as the gate was beginning to open. 'Don't go!' she screamed as the king jumped out and the Guymelef transformed into a dragon to fly off into the day-breaking sky._

_He landed, transforming instantly back into Knight frame and was immediately surrounded by the Zaibach. Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Landing with ferocious BOOMs on the broken ground. _

_Eleven was the scarlet mecha._

'_Okay, people. The dragon hunting is going to stop today,' Dilandau said happily in his communicator, his red eyes flickering dangerously. _

'_I'm going to end this myself,' the king said closing his dark eyes. 'Okay, Escaflowne, give me the strength.' His thoughts cleared and he felt the gears in his fingers. The wires pulling at his legs. The shifting screws at his shoulders and waist. _

_He was connected._

_He was Escaflowne._

_Lightning streaked across the sky and Dilandau shrieked, 'ATTACK NOW!'_

_They came all at once. And the king raised his blade to meet them all. He dodged a cremma claw and charged, slicing completely through three Guymelefs. He tossed his arm and smashed in the control chamber – killing the pilot inside._

_Catching a blade with his, it grated and he tossed the Zaibach mecha off balance to slice it in half. Turning and parrying yet another attack, he drove the hilt of his sword into the chest – killing another. Glancing around, the king spied the Guymelef he'd thrown and stomped on the chamber – another._

'_Damn, he's fast!' Dilandau roared watching from above. 'Stealth cloaks!'_

_They disappeared from sight. _

_But the king saw the pendant swinging before his eyes. _

_And he could see them._

_Roaring and twisting with sparks flying off his shoulder gears, he struck left - and killed. He dodged and stabbed right – and killed. He jumped high in the air and sliced right through a cremma claw, crushing the entire mecha under his weight._

'_This is for Freid!' he cried and the enemy Guymelef sizzled into molten mush at his feet -another. _

'_And this is for Balgus!' he tossed away a cremma claw and stabbed the air behind him – another. _

_Two more met their fate as he zeroed in like a predator to prey._

_He was a monster._

'_What's happening?' Dilandau shivered, his eyes growing faint. 'He's going crazy…'_

'_Lord Dilandau!' one of the pilots shrieked as he saw the blade coming for his head – another._

_The king straightened up and knew there was no more. There was nothing standing in his way now. All that was left was the one who started this. The one who lead the sneak attack on his country._

_The one he had to kill._

'_Gatti? Chesta? Dallet?' the silver-haired boy whimpered in his communicator. No one answered. _

_He was alone. _

_The Escaflowne advanced through the burning wreckage. _

'_Where… where is he…?' Dilandau whispered, frozen in his fear. His vision flashed to chains… hard chains on his small wrists… no, no, the battlefield! _

_He was alone. _

_He was always alone._

_Above their heads, the girl and Merle watched the battle with baited breaths. _

'_My lord! He's winning!'_

'_Something strange is happening with Escaflowne.' The girl realized. _

'_STAY AWAY!' Dilandau screamed, lifting his double claws to shoot. In his panic, he missed all but one little scratch on the white helmet. A tear drop of blood slipped down the king's face. _

'_Now, this is for Fanelia.' He raised his blade, like Balgus had once shown him long ago. 'Prepare to DIE!'_

_He charged, Dilandau screamed. A bit of the blood on his face trickled on the gears inside the control chamber and the king stopped short as the world around him was blanketed in blood red. His battle, his rage, he gasped as a face appeared in front of his eyes, peering at him through the chamber's slits._

'_Stop it…' the voice hissed, the blank eyes piercing him._

'_We won't let you kill him…' another spoke in his left ear. Twisting away, the king saw no one was there._

'_Because Lord Dilandau is everything…' another breathed down his back. _

'_What…?' he gasped. Turning back to the shrunken leader of the dragon slayers, he stumbled back. They surrounded him, their spirits shielding. They faced the king with cold dead eyes. _

_The dragon slayers…_

'_He gave us our glory.'_

'_He gave us honor.'_

'_We won't let you kill the one who loved us.'_

'_He raised us up.'_

_Their spirits melted away, slipping into black wraiths that climbed the shadows of the ground closer to the king. Clawing fingers reaching out to take him away. Their voices mumbling together, filling his ears with lamenting cries and death-filled promises. _

'_Stay… stay away! Get away from me!' The king tossed his hand, trying to strike the approaching phantoms. They grabbed hold of the Escaflowne's arm, their voices louder, rolling over and over in his mind. The king screamed as more and more climbed on the white Guymelef, entering through crevices and gears, slipping higher and higher, closer and closer._

_The first black hand grasped his leg, then his arm, then his neck. They surrounded him. _

_Suffocated him._

_Dilandau was shivering, his pride gone. His army torn to shreds. _

_He was broken._

_The group watched from the Convoy. _

'_What's wrong with him?' Merle whimpered into the girl's sleeve and she shook her head. There was darkness… nothing but darkness…_

_Outside, the Escaflowne – now black as night – collapsed on the ground."_

Nurse looked up from the book. Van, his eyes wide, just stared at her.

"King's in trouble again," she said softly, closing the book, but keeping it marked with her finger. "But it's the end of the chapter."

"Whar? Nurk, kurm un!" The black-haired man groaned as he tried to raise his weak arm. He only got about two inches off the bed, but he held up one finger proudly.

"One? One what?"

"Purg."

"One more page?" she translated innocently, fighting her smile. "I don't know…" She looked at her watch and then snapped her fingers. "OH! I just remembered, Mr. Fanel, my boss gave me an extended break. I get another hour."

It was almost impossible to imagine his eyes could get wider, but somehow he managed.

"Looks like we get to see what happens to him."

He blinked in surprise about four times and she finally let out a happy laugh as his mouth broke out into a wide grin.

"Yek!"

"Here we go then," she flopped the book back open.

"_The black Escaflowne was still and silent, the control chamber refusing to move. The energist glowed a brilliant pink. _

'_Oh, god, please! Please wake up!' the girl cried out. She climbed over the large shoulders of the Guymelef to rest on top of the chest compartment. Grasping on his visor hood, she peered into the black chamber. She saw his still face. His usually tan skin was pale and grey._

_He looked like a corpse._

'_What's wrong?' the princess asked concerned._

'_He's in lots of trouble!' she turned back and pressed her eye through the grate. 'Come on, please! Open your eyes!'_

_Letting out a gasp, she finally noticed black smoke holding his neck and shoulders. It wavered swiftly as if tossed by an invisible wind before seeping out of the chamber. The princess stumbled back and it grabbed the girl by the arms and legs. She ignored it and shook the grate once more. 'SAY SOMETHING TO ME!' she screamed, her green eyes filling with tears. The smoke engulfed her slowly curling up her legs and shoulders._

'_Stop! Get down from there!' the princess cried. 'Don't go with him! You may not be able to come back if you do! Just like that time with the doppelganger!'_

'_No!' Knight roared, hearing the princess' words. He rushed forward, but was too late._

'_If we don't do something, we will lose him!' the girl shouted courageously and allowed the shadow to wash over her entire body. She sank forward, her hands reaching out desperately for the king. _

_And she was still._

_It was somehow familiar and yet she was a stranger. Like a forgotten dream she'd once had and now remembered. The world around her was smeared with grey; dark shadows marched in front of her._

_With a gasp, she recalled her goal and began racing towards the collected phantoms. Every four of her steps felt like one of theirs. She ran, pushing her spirit forward. _

_She had to find him. She had to-_

'_King! Where are you?' she cried her voice dropping without an echo. 'Please!' Approaching the spirits, she saw their blank stares. Old and young. In farmers clothes and royal robes. In armor and monk's garbs. They were altogether headed to the place of death. The final rest._

'_No, no, no, where is he?' she panted, knowing each step they took brought the king further into the afterlife. _

_Pushing through the quiet unnoticing spirits, she finally spied his black messy hair. 'I found you! Don't go into the light!' she cried, sprinting desperately closer. And closer. The grey was slowly receding into a bright white. _

'_I gotta make it… I gotta get him back…'_

_Five more feet. _

_Three more feet. _

_One foot left. _

_Her outstretched hand grazed his back and he disappeared. _

_She screamed as she fell forward; tumbling into the blinding white. _

_Outside the spirit world, the princess climbed up and touched the girl's wrist for a beat. _

'_It stopped… It stopped!' _

_The group was hushed, bowing their heads. Knight gasped, his blue eyes staring at the girl's quiet face._

_But in her mind, she was lying on the concrete warmed by the sun. Her head felt a little dizzy, but she sat up blinking. The sun was hot and bright. The clouds struck puffs of white in the vibrant blue sky. Doves with white wings flew overhead._

_The girl blinked and stared closer. Those weren't birds… they were-_

'_Angels…' she whispered, looking around. Tall silver buildings gleaming in the sunlight looked like a palace in the heavens. Standing up, she walked to a balcony and peered out. A beautiful woman floated by, her face smiling easily, her wings catching the smooth winds. Beyond the woman was a huge tree perched high on a cliff. The girl instantly knew he was there. _

_He was waiting._

_She took off down the pathway and raced through the empty streets. Her heart jumping wildly, her mind racing. She'd found him. She'd found him. She made it to the steps and took two at a time all the way up. Her legs didn't burn. She wasn't out of breath. _

_She felt like she could have flown to him if she wanted to._

_Finally reaching the tree, she stopped, her green eyes watching him. He sat underneath in the shade, his arms wrapped around his knees. Coming closer, the girl brushed a short hair out of her eye and smiled. 'Come on. Let's go.'_

_He remained silent. His eyes blocked by his long black locks. Crouching low, she said, 'Everybody's waiting.' Peaking closely at his face when he gave no reaction, her stomach dropped in apprehension as she saw his cloudy eyes. _

_He was shaking. _

_More than that. _

_He was afraid._

'_Hey, I-' the girl gave a small scream as the world began to shiver with violent tremors. Instantly, the blue sky turned a flaming orange-red and the heat of the sun became insufferable hot. Fire laced over the once white buildings, crumbling them into ash and dust. Flames raced up and torched the angels as they flew. _

_This paradise had turned into hell._

'_What?' she whispered, the heat of the fires brushing her hair off her face. A brush of fear came over her and she ran back to the king. Grabbing his shoulders, she screamed, 'You've got to get up!'_

_The tremors began crumbling the cliff she was on. The girl wrapped her arms around him as the stairs she'd climbed before collapsed in rubble. Inch by inch, foot by foot, the world fell apart around her. _

_Holding him close, she waited for the end._

_Holding her hand, the princess was still feeling for any sign of a heartbeat._

'_It's been three minutes,' Knight said. _

'_We'll have to at least bring her around. Although both-'_

'_You stupid girl!' Merle shrieked suddenly climbing on the mecha and grabbing the girl's clothes violently. 'Wake up! You can't give up. You get your act together and you bring my lord back here! Are you listening to me?!' Growling, she smacked the girl hard in the face. 'SAVE. MY. LORD!'_

_The girl gasped and looked up. She thought she heard… but wait-_

'_Is that… Merle?'_

'_MY LORD! COME BACK!' her shrill voice broke through the tree, spilling a golden pillar of light down on the king and girl. _

'_Merle!' _

_The world was breaking. She was out of time! The last of the cliff fell away and she held tight to the king as they plunged to the underground together. _

'_Oh, god! You've got to fly!' she screamed, cradling his head to her chest. _

'_Please! Save me!'_

_And he blinked. _

_Wrapping his arms firmly around her waist, his wings burst from his back and caught the fiery wind. Flapping them swiftly, he leveled out and began to climb; following the golden light that shined down from above. _

_She no longer had to hold on to him. She was being carried. Following him into death, she'd thought she would save him. _

_Once again, however, he had saved her._

_As they reached the end of the yellow light, she felt her mind and body melt back into one and she slowly slipped off the Guymelef; bringing Merle down with her. The Escaflowne, sweeping the darkness away, was white once more. The control chamber opened and the king groaned as he slowly stood. _

_Sitting up with Merle, she felt her raw cheek stinging. _

'_Hey, Merle…' she said sourly and the cat-girl innocently licked her paw. Holding her cheek, she realized she couldn't stay mad at her. 'It's all because of you,' she said smiling a little. The cat-girl looked up confused just before the girl gave her a tackling hug. _

_Back at the floating fortress, his scarlet Guymelef wrapped in the hanger, he stood with the open wind pushing his silver hair forward. He'd taken a rose bud from a nearby vase. Twisting it this way and that, his matching red eyes focused on the innocent petals. _

'_They're all incompetent,' he murmured darkly, spinning the flower in his fingers. 'Gaymel, Chesta, Dallet, Veole. Where's the glory in dying in a fight like that?' With a swift toss, he watched the rose fall into the clouds and out of sight. _

_He was alone._

_All alone._

_The image of a cell. The image of a prison. The chains were stronger now. Stronger than they'd been in years. _

_The chains had never left. They'd only been forgotten. And now he remembered._

_He remembered because he was alone._

_The tears. The tears. His tears. _

_Gasping for breath, he clutched the railing as he fell. _

'_All alone,' he whispered, before collapsing on his side._

_Stratego, on the other side of the fortress, stood before the large screen. The wizened face of the Emperor displayed. _

'_With the conquest of Freid, the power spot is ours; however…'_

'_The dragon, Lord,' Stratego finished._

'_Indeed. The fate of the dragon is shrouded in mist. Growing even dimmer.'_

'_Leave it to me, Majesty. My next plan is already in motion.'_

'_Capture the dragon…'_

_Unknown to the dangers that lay ahead for him, the king stood on the balcony pier, his sword tip steady in his hand. Running through his practice moves, he gritted his teeth as he maneuvered into the charge position. A red clouded vision of those haunting bleeding faces erupted before his eyes and he broke the off, panting and gasping._

_He held his sword high and it trembled in his fingertips. 'Why is it I shake when I hold my sword…?' he hissed in frustration. _

_Little did he know, the psychic stood watching, her green eyes filled with worry. Feeling a presence at her back, she turned and saw, 'Oh. Knight.'_

'_Don't worry about him,' Knight said confidently. _

'_But he's been like that since his last fight.'_

'_This is one trial that must be overcome by all swordsmen. I speak from experience. Vanity and arrogance draw you into a haze of fear. I was lost. All I had was my sword. I challenged everyone I met until finally, I met my match. He disarmed me and refused to kill me when I demanded it. He told me I had skill. I just needed to find my path. And that was how I met my master, Balgus. Mastering sword and self are one. But I still haven't come close to mastering his skill. I wish I…' his blue eyes tightened._

'_That's not true, you know!' she injected. 'Knight, you're so amazing and strong and nice. Look, I don't know anything about swords and I don't think he'd listen to anything I said, but I'm sure he'd listen to you. You-You're simply terrific and everyone looks up to you! As for me, I really like you,' her cheeks blushed brilliantly. '…a lot…' With a short gasp, she realized what she'd said and shouted, 'Sorry, I just remembered there was something I forgot to do!' and dashed down the hallway._

'_I see…' he said, watching her run. 'Well, sometimes you are quite the little friend.'"_

Throughout that entire exchange between Knight and the girl, Van was making groaning noises.

Nurse didn't break character until it was finished. Lifting her head, she reached into her pocket and replaced her bookmark. When Van made a small grunt of protest, she shook her head.

"Not sure what you want me to do, Mr. Fanel. Read so you can complain about Knight or stop so you can complain about Knight…" her expression was one of smooth patience. "I get you don't like him and I have to admit I was a little worried about how close the girl was getting to the king, but she basically just confessed her love to Knight. I think I won this little bet of ours, no?"

"Nlllooo," Van frowned, trying to move his tongue correctly.

Damn, why was it so difficult?

"Face it, you owe me a T-bone steak," she grinned. Shutting the book, she stood and stretched. Van couldn't help but notice the skin of her stomach showed a tiny bit when she did. "As soon as you get to moving around, we'll go out. You're scheduled to work on muscle rehabilitation in a few days. I really think that by the end of the month, you'll be right as rain."

"Whar…?" He tried.

"Hmmm?" she looked at him curiously.

"Whar dlay iths iii?" he struggled, working his tongue awkwardly to get the words out.

"What day is it?" She repeated slowly and then smiled, "That's right. You haven't been able to see or talk properly. Today is January 20th."

Her phone blipped a message and she blinked in surprise. "Excuse me, Mr. Fanel," Nurse looked at her phone and pressed her lips together. Gazing back up at him, he raised his eyebrows curiously.

"Hey, now!" she said playfully pocketing the phone again, "I know you know a lot about my personal life, but I've got to draw lines. I'm still your nurse and you are still my patient. There are boundaries here."

"Allwn?" he asked, nodding to her pocket.

"None. Of. Your. Business." She smirked. "Oh, I work the next several days, but only in the nighttime. Millerna, my boss, likes that I read to you. She says that it's helping."

"It iths…" Van mumbled with a side smile.

She turned to walk to the doorway, but stopped and glanced back. "Jessica was right, Mr. Fanel," her voice had turned light and airy. Van knew her voice so well.

She was embarrassed.

"Your eyes… your eyes are very beautiful… like a warm fireplace…"

The door closed behind her as she practically ran out of the room.

He grinned as he settled back into the pillows.

His grin slipped away as he remembered the text message she'd just gotten from Allen.

There was something weird about that guy.

Something Van just couldn't figure out.

* * *

"Why did I just say that…?" Hitomi groaned, coming back to the Nurse's desk and shaking her head. "Like a _fireplace_? That sounds so _stupid_…" Her phone blipped a reminder message and she sighed quietly.

Reaching and unlocking the phone, she read the message and her green eyes widened.

Allen wanted to see her… now?

* * *

She pressed the release button on the wall and the doorway opened to let him in.

"I got special permission from the front," the blond man said charmingly as he waltzed into the dark hospital wing. "She told me visiting hours were over."

"They are," Hitomi said with a confused look. "They let you through anyway?"

"Oh, of course, I had to see you after all," he stopped in front of her and grinned into her eyes. "I hadn't seen you in days, lovely Hitomi, and I swear you've been ignoring my calls."

"It's been a rough couple of days," she said, turning away from him to walk to the desk. "I've had a lot on my mind and I probably wasn't the most pleasant person to be around."

"Hitomi?" a voice called out from the back left. "Who's this guy?"

"Oh, Jessica!" she jumped. The chubbier girl quirked an eyebrow suspiciously and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You know visiting hours are not permitted this time of-"

"I was given special permission from the front." Allen interrupted with a beautiful smile. "I needed to speak with your co-worker for a bit. I'll be on my way soon."

"I'm not sure about-"

"It'll be okay, Jessica. I'm sorry about this, but we'll just be a minute." Hitomi said tensely, grabbing hold of Allen's sleeve.

"Don't let Millerna catch you. You've just gotten done with suspension." She flicked her short ponytail and strolled over to the coffee room.

"You were suspended?" Allen asked, once she was gone. "How?"

"It's a ridiculous story, and it's nothing. The suspension was revoked and I'm fine." Pulling him to one of the conference rooms for privacy, she let him go and asked, "Why did you need to see me so suddenly? What is this about that can't wait until visiting hours?"

Allen's smile bloomed back on his handsome face. "Well, since you told me not to call during this time, I decided to come to you personally."

"You broke the rules just because I can't answer my phone to talk to you?" she asked incredulously.

"That's not only it. I wanted to do something and I need your help."

"You need _my _help? Stop being cryptic and tell me."

"I wanted to do this-" he suddenly closed the space between them and leaned in to her.

Hitomi immediately ducked just in time to avoid his lips hitting hers. Slipping away, her mouth fell open in surprise – and fury.

"What in the world do you think you're doing, Allen?"

"I-I was going to kiss you…" he said with wide blue eyes. He took another few steps closer and she backed away.

"And what made you think that was a good idea?"

"I-I only… I just…" his countenance changed and he stopped. His smooth lips turned down into a frown. "I thought I could surprise you."

"By kissing me without my permission?"

"We've been dating for weeks!"

"That still doesn't mean _I'm _ready."

"Kissing is part of getting in that steady relationship mindset, Hitomi. It's part of getting to know each other."

She blushed brightly and hugged her chest defensively. "I am just not that kind of person, Allen. I like you well enough, but to come in here during the night and try to spontaneously kiss me… that was wrong. I wish that you'd just wait till I'm comfortable with it."

"Then let me take you out again. Let me treat you to whatever you want. I want to make you happy, Hitomi. I want to make you comfortable with me. I want to further this thing we have going between us."

Seeing the earnest expression on his face, she sighed and lowered her arms to her side. "I have the daytime off tomorrow. We can go out then."

His handsome face broke out into a charming smile once more. "You won't regret this. You will have the time of your life."

She showed him out and he left waving at her as the automatic doors closed shut.

She turned and her green eyes glanced to the right at a certain hospital room. The curtains were shut, as was protocol. She knew Mr. Fanel was inside fast asleep.

She felt a spike of panic hit her. What if Mr. Fanel had heard Allen's voice? What if he somehow heard the entire conversation?

'Stop it, Hitomi,' she chided herself, strolling over to pick up her iPad and check on the statuses of her patients. 'He already knows about Allen. He doesn't care like that. He's just curious and bored.'

But… in a weird way… she kind of wished he did care.

Just a bit.

* * *

**More to come tomorrow. **

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed and favorited. It has made all this work worth it! I'm giving a special shout out to dinkycharlie and sweet angel 505 who suggested some stuff I hadn't thought of in the last chapter. Fixed some things, it did! :)**

**I give you hearts and love!**

**blue...**


	5. Chapter 5: Dornkirk and the Scientist

**And now we continue...**

* * *

The date was really fun!

Allen took her to an amusement park. She hadn't been to one since her parents were alive. The weather was perfectly cool, the lines weren't terribly long, and the food was fantastic. She ate her way through a second hot dog while Allen shot at targets and won her a little toy kitten. He asked her what she'd name the plushy and she looked at the orange fur and pink cheeks.

"Merle," she answered with a furtive smile.

Another few roller coasters later and Hitomi couldn't believe where the time had gone. Evening had started to take over the afternoon. It would only be a few hours before her night-shift began.

"One last ride?" Allen asked sweetly, jerking his head towards the Ferris wheel. She pressed her lips together thoughtfully before sighing and nodding.

One last ride. Why not?

Climbing aboard the cart, she hugged Merle in her lap and looked out the window.

"It's so pretty!" she gasped as the wheel swung upward and the ground was left behind. All around below her was littered with dazzling lights. "It's like flying!" she smiled happily.

"Did you have a good time today?" Allen asked, his blue eyes watching her.

She turned to see him sitting in front of her, his legs crossed and his blond hair pushed over one shoulder.

"I did, Allen. I really did. I needed a day like this. Thank you."

"Please, do not thank me, Hitomi. I am just happy that you came out with me."

She studied him for a moment before switching her gaze back to the window. He was so regal. So proper. So charming. She felt like a bumbling idiot most of the time. Why would someone so amazing and strong and nice ever want to be with her? It was insane.

And he'd tried to kiss her last night. She'd balked at the very thought of it.

Balked like the chicken she was.

Should she let him kiss her right now? Should she cross that bridge? Hitomi didn't know why, but she found that just by thinking about it… she _still _didn't want to. She liked Allen! She liked him and he liked her back, but she just couldn't pull down the mental block holding her back from physical affection.

Why was it like that? What was wrong with her?

"Hitomi, are you okay?" He asked, his face showing a gentle concern.

"I-I'm fine," she lied through a smile. "I'm just thinking about work."

"Always about the work," he grinned, "A workaholic, that's what you are."

"I'm not a workaholic," she teased back. "I like paying rent. There's a difference."

Allen held up his hands in surrender. "Can't argue with that. Jobs aren't always easy, but as long as the bills get paid, I can't ever complain."

"I don't think I've ever asked you before," she said with embarrassing realization. "What do you do, Allen?"

"Oh, I never told you," he leaned forward and rested his chin in his palm. "I'm an independent contractor."

"Contractor? Of what?"

"Oh, things here and there. It's really rewarding because I can choose my own hours most of the time. I always have a steady line of work that I can pick and choose from. I work quite a bit with a very prominent company."

"What's the company?"

"Well, aren't you just full of questions?" He laughed.

"I'm just curious about you."

"I don't ask about your patients, do I?"

She smiled. "No, but you do barge into the hospital whenever you want to apparently."

He sat back in the hard plastic seat with a barking laugh. "Oh, my sweet Hitomi, I can go, be, do, or say anything I want," he shook his head, his blue eyes trailing from her feet all the way up to her eyes.

She felt a strange chill tingling her legs and arms.

She had to shyly look back out the window.

Unthinkingly, she hugged Merle even tighter.

* * *

He had done quite a bit of improvement in rehabilitation today. Even he was impressed with himself.

He could talk at last!

That morning, he was taught mouth exercises and how to work out his tongue by rolling it back and forth in his mouth every thirty minutes. It was hard the first hour or so, but soon he remembered the familiarity of it. Even the pathologist was impressed. Later on, he asked Van to recite his ABC's and count to ten.

The only ones he messed up were the letter T and two, three, and ten.

As for his physical body, well… he still had issues. He could hold his arms out straight for only twenty seconds before it collapsed back down. His legs were worse. They only moved side to side.

But that was just another time factor.

Dryden had been right. Time really did heal all wounds.

Even those to the brain apparently.

So, when Nurse showed up that night, Van was ready for her.

The door opened and here she came at last.

"Hello, Nurse," he said pleasantly.

"Ahhhhh!" she screamed, dropping her book and her phone to the floor. Her hand pressed to her chest, she blew out a quick breath.

"You okay, Nurse?"

"M-Mr. Fanel! You-you can talk!"

"I still have issues, buh yeah," he grinned cheekily at her. "Hongue exercises," he explained pointing in his mouth.

"I… I am so happy for you," her face was joyous. She reached down to snatch the book and phone from the floor and threw them haphazardly on his bed. Coming up, she grabbed his hand and stroked the back of his fingers with her thumb. "Oh, Mr. Fanel, I cannot be happier! I knew you'd improve quickly."

"Hank you," he smiled, still messing up his 'T's. "Now I can finally say: please Nurse, no more Mr. Fanel. Call me Van."

"Van…" she whispered with a nod. "If you want me to… Van."

"I… don' know your name," he said hesitantly.

Her eyes turned professional, but her back straightened with nervousness. "Well… since you want me to call you by your name, I shall do so as a comforting special request, but unfortunately, nurse/patient protocol states that a-"

"No need da ge' official on me, I was jus' wondering." Van held a hand with his mouth twisting in amusement. "'Nurse' will do. Keep your name da yourself, you pro'ocol weirdo."

"It's not that I don't want to-"

"Nurse, read on and calm down," he let out a laugh. "Let's see wha' happened, shall we?" he spoke her words, his grin growing even higher on his face.

She reached over and dutifully grabbed the book where it had landed near his knees. Flicking over the bookmark, she gave him another beautiful smile before she continued the chapter from before.

"_Deep inside his library, his glasses falling over his nose, the merchant sat curled on the ladder. He was bent over a book and slowly tried to piece the jagged puzzle together. 'The mysterious power of the girl from the Mystic Moon, the King of Fanelia, in whose veins run the blood of the Draconians, and Zaibach, who is after the power spot… very strange occurrences happening one after the other.' Merchant threw his head back with a grown and reached up to pull his brown locks lightly with his fingers. 'Ahh, this is driving me nuts! I know I almost have it…'_

_Below him unsuspectingly, the princess listened quietly, holding a steaming cup in her hand. 'Excuse me,' she said hesitantly. 'Merchant… thank you…'_

'_For what?' he groaned, still pulling his hair. 'Spare me the pleasantries. It doesn't cost you to bow.'_

_Princess' lips turned into a scowl. 'What are you getting at?' she snapped, coming up to him. 'I came to apologize for my manners because I was wrong about you!'_

_The merchant burst out laughing and slammed the book shut with a waft of dust. 'That's more your style!' he grinned. 'But I have ulterior motives, of course. I'll do anything to get a girl's attention.' Standing up, he grabbed another book from the shelf right next to him and flicked opened a page. _

_Princess set the cup down and swallowed nervously. 'I understand, but I… uhh…'_

'_Oh, I know,' he said tauntingly with a laugh. 'It's Knight, right? Hey, never mind! I always get what I want.' Reaching up to scratch his head, he leaned against the ladder. 'Anyway… instead of that… maybe there is something you can do for me.' She turned curiously. _

_It was only several minutes later after she left; Knight came in the library with a book in his hand. 'This is my late father's final log book. This is the last of the journals left in my father's study.'_

'_Great!' Merchant nodded, already opening the book and his brown eyes zipping over the pages. 'This is it!'_

'_Is something like that really useful?' Princess asked._

'_It sure is! This makes the mystery at the very heart of all of this.'_

_Knight perked up. 'Mystery?'_

'_Atlantis,' Merchant smirked._

'_Atlantis?' _

'_That's right. My old man used to tell me your father was searching for the secret treasure of Atlantis. I'm going to borrow this for a minute.' He said, holding the book up and walking away. _

'_Look, the man's a celebrity,' Knight called out sharply. 'And I find that he's embarrassing me even out on this frontier.'_

'_I know, Knight, but it's a bargain compared to what he paid out for Escaflowne, don't you agree?' Princess reprimanded. _

'_Y-yes, princess,' Knight lowered his blue eyes. 'You're right.'_

_Up in the tower, the girl sank her head in her hands and groaned. Not even the pleasant evening breeze could cool her hot blush. 'Why did I say that? I like you… a lot… Now he must think I'm some kind of groupie or something…'_

'_Oh, hi, I was looking for you,' the voice of the princess resounded beside her. Gasping and straightening up, the girl greeted her awkwardly._

'_Um… I was wondering if I could ask your opinion about a friend of mine.' The princess asked._

'_Sure!' _

_They both leaned on the window's banister. From the shadows, a cat-ear perked up to catch the conversation. 'Well,' the princess started. 'She has a boyfriend, but she – uh - found out that he's really a playboy and even fathered a child._

'_What a jerk!' the girl snipped._

'_But-just listen until I'm through.'_

'_Sorry…'_

'_But this girl met another man who's really rich and he seems really nice. And he even told her that he loves her-'_

'_Ha! Talk about obvious! Dumb moron!' Merle laughed loudly. _

_Both girls started at the noise, but the girl encouraged princess to continue, 'And?' she asked._

'_It's just… what do you think she should do?'_

'_Let me see… if I found out that he had a kid while I was going out with him, well, I'd never talk to him again!'_

'_Why not?' Princess' face turned troubled._

'_Well, he's a disgrace to men everywhere! It's like he'd go out with anybody!'_

'_Yes, but he's a wonderful man,' princess defended._

'_Yeah, but isn't the other guy, too?'_

'_Well, I guess he is good looking…'_

'_Not only that, but he can give her love and money. It's obvious he's the one!'_

'_That's calculated,' the blond frowned._

_The girl grew a smirk. 'Why not be like the guy and go out with both of them?'_

'_That's immoral!' _

'_On the other hand, she could give both of them up! The tragic heroine…'_

'_You're just joking! You're making fun! Anyway… what about the special feelings she already has for one of them?'_

_The girl dropped her teasing and leaned further on the railing. 'I know, I guess that's a problem. It's most natural to go with your feelings.'_

'_Go with your feelings?'_

'_I could do a reading?' the girl perked up. 'You know, to see which one of the guys is best for her. I can be pretty accurate.'_

'_Are you stupid!? Who cares about your readings! Before you do a reading for someone else try sorting out your own feelings first!' Merle shouted leaping from her hiding spot and landing on the stair railing. _

_Both women turned to the cat-girl surprised. 'M-My own feelings, Merle?'_

'_You have to choose which one you like, Knight or my lord!'_

_The girl gasped, the words catching in her throat. Silence rang out for a full minute. _

'_Well, who is it?' Merle demanded loudly._

'_Th-the one that I really like is-is… Knight…'"_

"Ah HA! You owe me a steak, Van Fanel!" The short-haired woman cheered triumphantly. "She chose Knight!"

Van waved his hand in the air as if to brush aside her comment and his arm dropped to his side weakly. "Book's only halfway done, Nurse. Keep going and we'll see who wins."

"_The princess and cat stared at her with surprise. Her hands clasped together nervously as she continued, 'I'm just… just worried about the king…'_

'_Worried?' the princess piped in. 'Is that really all?'_

'_You just stay away from my lord, understood?' Merle snapped._

'_And Knight is way out of your league!' Princess crossed her arms defensively."_

"Ah ha, Nurse!" Van copied her cheer. "King's shill in!"

"She said she liked Knight," she scowled.

"Doesn' mean king's gone for good. Better hold off on your vichory dance. I've goh a chance to get the sheak!"

"Hmph," Nurse bent her head to continue reading, but Van watched her mouth curl into a tiny smile.

"_Overhead, two figures, night and day, moon and sun, silver and gold perched like seductive queens on two separate Guymelefs. Identical in everything but coloring, both held the same lighted grin as they watched over the quiet Convoy. _

'_I can't believe we ran into them here.' _

'_I guess it must be our luck, don't you think?' the silver of them purred sweetly, swinging her tail back and forth daintily._

'_Let's introduce ourselves and get a present for Lord Stratego.' The gold-haired cat's smile grew wider._

'_Sounds good.' _

_Like panthers, they both leapt into the control chambers and, as one, dived off the cliff. Landing with a perfect CRUNCH on the bow of the ship, the two simple men charged to guard the front fell over from the impact. _

'_There's a Guymelef called Escaflowne here, right?' the silver- plaited Melef said. 'Send him out.'_

'_That's right,' said the gold one. 'And if you don't do as you're told…?' Lifting up a cremma claw, the liquid metal broke through the heavy glass and shattered bits of the control center within. 'Then you are all dead.'_

_Running swiftly to the sitting hold, one of the crew members ran up to Knight. 'Boss! It's Zaibach! Zaibach Guymelefs are here!'_

'_WHAT?' Knight gasped._

_Hearing the commotion, the king immediately ran for the hanger – the girl and Merle followed in quick pursuit. 'No!' she cried, running behind him. 'No! You shouldn't pilot it yet!'_

'_Stop, my lord!' Merle shrieked. _

_They weren't fast enough. Chasing him down another hallway, they watched in collective horror as the chamber opened and the king leapt inside the Guymelef. _

'_Here goes…' he said clenching his fists and standing up with the Escaflowne._

_As the hatch released and the gate opened, the king jumped out with the Escaflowne and it transformed into the dragon form. He yanked the cords left and right, steadying his descent and threw them upward to fly over to the Convoy's bow. _

_Inside, Knight gasped as a dragon passed over the top. 'The king went out!' He cried._

'_There it is…' the silver one hissed, the dragon catching both their eye. 'Let's take it out…'_

_As one, they transformed into flight mode, back thrusters spewing out white smoke. They were fast. Shooting upwards, they passed on either side of the dragon and transformed back into Knight Frame. Falling down with gravity, the king had just fixed his broken altitude when they hit both the dragon's wings and clamped on tightly. Their combined weight was too much for him and he plummeted back down to hit the Convoy. _

_The twins let him go and just as he was about to collide with the starboard bow – the king tossed the Escaflowne back into Knight Frame and landed sharply. The impact shook the entire ship. The girl and Merle, watching from the open hatch, fell over close to the edge._

_As he stood shakily, the king tried to shake off the pain. A streak of silver landing behind, a cremma claw slipped out and scratched the Escaflowne's helm. The king's face was raked with blood. As he reached back for his sword, the gold tackled him from the front, bringing him down on his back. _

_He had gotten his sword out just in time. _

_The golden Guymelef that pinned him down thrust forward and caught his blade. He struggled to break free; finally seeing one of his adversaries face-to-face. _

_He saw the long golden hair and lush lips of a seductive smirk._

'_It's a woman!' he realized. _

'_His stomach's wide open!' She drew a knee into the Escaflowne's middle and the king lost his breath with a horrible wheeze. Panting and still struggling to free his hand, he slammed his other fist forward with sparks flying._

'_Get off!' he roared pushing her violently off his body and onto the ground. Now he was the one on top, his sword free and the blade pushed against the control chamber. _

_His head was grabbed by the silver Guymelef and he was thrown backwards once more. Both twins jumped and landed with cat-like balance on the ship's left wing. As the king sat up with a pain filled groan, he tried to grasp his sword._

_And couldn't._

_His hands were shaking; his heart was beating in his ears. _

_His teeth clattered together. _

_He remembered the screams… _

_He remembered the phantoms…_

_He remembered the grey dark world he was thrown into. _

'_What's wrong with him?' the gold quirked an eyebrow._

'_Hey, he's scared!' the silver laughed. 'Dilandau's group was taken out by this guy?'_

'_He's a real disappointment for Lord Stratego.'_

'_Let's finish him off!'_

_Even in the face of his own death, he couldn't take up his sword. His fingers trembled violently in the controls. He was frozen._

_They licked their lips like tigers of prey ready to taste their meal-_

_When suddenly-_

_A small figure stepped in between._

_Both women gasped as they recognized the markings. Orange fur, long ears, pink curly hair, and a tail tossing defensively. Merle stood with her arms outstretched, barely a fraction of the size of her opponents._

_The cat twins stood transfixed. Their own past washing over their eyes. Living together, surviving together, and shielding each other. They saw the same fierce look of protection – of love – in this little cat's face. _

'_You won't touch him!' she shouted defiantly. 'I won't let you kill my lord!'_

'_M-Merle, no…' the king gasped._

_To his surprise, their readied claws dropped as one and they straightened up._

'_What a party-pooper…' the gold hissed._

'_I know what you mean, but still, she is a cat… that's enough for today.'_

_Lifting off in sync, they left a cloud of exhaust in their wake. As it cleared, the figure of Merle could still be seen standing in front of the Escaflowne. She blinked and collapsed to her knees with a gasp of air as the control chamber popped open on the Ispano._

'_Merle!' the king cried, jumped down to her. Together they watched the streams of jet disappear in to the night sky. '… Merle…' the king whispered, his mahogany eyes looking at her tearful eyes._

'_My lord…' she wrapped her arms around his middle, sobbing, 'Thank goodness you are safe! Thank goodness, my lord…'_

_Standing out from several feet away watching this exchange, the girl felt a sense of relief wash over her. 'Merle…' she whispered almost in awe of the girl's bravery. _

_Bravery for the one she loved."_

"Well, that sounds to me like the king and Merle might be a thing," she chimed in with a proud gleam in her eye. "She does care for him so much. It's kind of sweet."

"He sees her as a sisher," Van answered immediately, shaking his head. "Hey grew up hougher."

"They may have grown up together, but feelings can change."

"Bah," he dismissed, rolling his eyes.

"_Deep in his library, a chuckle began to escape his lips. As he clutched the book with shaking fingers, the merchant burst out laughing for several long seconds. 'I've got it…' he finally said through peals of laughter. 'I've GOT IT! I was right! All of the mysteries are hidden in the Mystic Valley…' _

_Sunrise was on the horizon as the Convoy took off towards a new destination._

_Outside on a balcony window, the girl turned to the king at her side. 'The Mystic Valley?' she asked._

_He crossed his arms and answered, 'The legendary place where the Draconians are said to live.' She looked into his face, his staring eyes, and a sharp feeling of unease drifted over her head._

_The place of his ancestors."_

"End of the chapter," she announced turning a page. "Thoughts? Questions? Predictions?"

"King is awesome, why is he so awesome, and he will continue ho do more awesome 'hings in the future." Van said immediately with an innocent blink.

She stopped for a moment before snorting a laugh. "I truly underestimated how much you liked the king."

"He's awesome," Van said simply, the workings of a smile appearing on his lips. "And I'm gonna win."

"We'll see, we'll see…" she grinned.

"_Grabbing hold of the rock, he tried to side his foot onto another spot. It broke away, causing him to slip several inches on the tall mountainside. With a low grunt and panting breath, he tried to ignore the heavy pack weighing him down and stretched for another – more secure – foothold. It was slow work with hours passing quickly. The sun was already beginning to set by the time he finally put a solid hand on the edge of the cliff and pulled himself up. _

_As soon as he crawled over, he almost fell over to his death as a brilliant white light laced from the sky and shot down to the ground in front of him. _

_The light cleared. _

_And the man gasped._

_A girl had appeared. _

_Her hair was long and braided down her back. She was dressed in a blue robe and sandals. In her hand, she held a little spinning toy which turned with the wind."_

"Huh… that was a weird scene. Now's gone back to the floating fortress." Nurse frowned.

Van gave a one shouldered shrug.

"_The floating fortress slipped over the mountains like a silent giant. Inside, hanging in the hold, the two Guymelefs – silver and gold – were stationed at the forefront of the Melef conveyer - right where a scarlet mecha used to hang…_

'_Did it go well?' A deep voice echoed against the black metal walls._

'_Yes, all of our training was completed successfully,' a woman's voice purred back._

'_Very good, girls,' Stratego smiled from his chair. He dipped his head forward at the two twins kneeling on the ground at his feet._

'_C-could you tell us what happened to the sorcerers that accompanied us here?' the silver one asked with her ears perked curiously._

'_They journeyed here to take Dilandau back with them. For some reason, they seem to hate me. I'm not really sure why.' Stratego's smile remained on his lips._

'_It's because they're jealous of you, Lord Stratego,' the gold one injected._

'_You know, I simply hate all sorcerers!' the silver growled._

'_Enough, Eriya, you mustn't say such things about sorcerers. You see, I was one myself for a time.' His dark eyes opened wide in surprise as the cat-girls immediately wrapped their arms around his legs. _

'_Please, forgive us…' they cooed at the same time._

'_Oh, Lord Stratego, we missed you…' the gold whispered, her eyes shining in awe._

'_Thinking of the day we'd see you again was what sustained us…'_

'_I'm sorry, you two. You're so strong. If only I could possess your strength.'_

'_We understand,' they hissed together. 'Our bodies and our souls are yours…'_

"Whoa… this just went way past the weird and into the creepy level…" Nurse said with a face.

"Lucky guy…" Van murmured.

"_The ship continued its course, making great progress in the sunny weather. Inside, however, was not so sunny:_

'_Now that was tough…' Merchant groaned with a stretch. 'It took a while to figure that out. It was written in the language of the Mystic Moon.'_

'_Language of the Mystic Moon?' the girl repeated with surprise. _

'_Please, young master, enough is enough!' the accountant squeaked at his side. 'Knight is afraid that Zaibach has their eye on you. Nothing good will come of it! I'm sure!'_

_Merchant's usually good-natured eyes turned cold. 'Then you go home.'_

_The short-man dropped his books. 'Whaaaaa…'_

'_I've just decided to plan a mission to the Mystic Valley. Take this Convoy back to Palas immediately.'_

'_WHAT?' the accountant shrieked. 'How will I explain it to the master when I bring back the ship without you OR the cargo? He'll have my head!'_

_Merchant turned with a wink, 'It's okay. I'll write you a note. He'll understand especially if I say I'm with the third Princess of Austuria.'_

_The blond woman gasped, 'Merchant, I don't know if I-'_

'_Aren't you coming?' he smirked. 'After all, Knight's coming.'_

'_And just why should I go?' Knight snapped from the back of the group. He was leaning against the stairs with a scowl on his face. _

'_Simply because you have to, Knight. Remember, your father threw away his home, his fortune, and his family to find the Mystic Valley. It's a famous story in Austuria. Everyone's heard of it. Hell, even I know it.'_

_Knight's fists were clenched in anger as Merchant continued his smug smile. _

'_I want to go too,' the king injected with Merle clutching his arm. 'The Mysic Valley is the homeland of the Draconians. I want to see for myself the source of the blood that runs through my veins and then the bond between that land and the Escaflowne.'_

'_Well, I'll be…' Merchant bowed his head with a sigh. 'Is it just fate that gathered us all together? We who are tied to the Mystic Valley…'_

_The Convoy, with the accountant now the only one aboard, drifted off to the north-east and disappeared from sight as the day progressed into the afternoon. Now riding the levee ship, the group took off towards the traveling sun. _

_In the candlelit dining room, they sat together listening to the merchant read all that he'd translated from the journal: _

'_Year of the Crystal North-East, Green Twelfth Moon: I am now bound for the dark continent of Ascard where no man has ever set foot. Yes, I'm certain that the Mystic Valley lies there. I'm sure that I will find what I have searched for all these years. The power that works miracles. The power of Atlantis…_

'_The ship I had paid for was tossed into a violent storm as we got closer to my destination. As the hours grew more dangerous, the crew began fighting for – not only control of the ship – but for control over their lives. It was falling apart, the energist burning hot, and the crew turned to the only one they could blame – me._

'_Just as I fear, it's the Draconian curse!' the captain announced fearfully, his good eye wild with panic. 'Men were never meant to sail these waters! That's it! Turn us around now!'_

'_Yes, sir!' they chorused out._

_I couldn't let that happen. I took out my dagger and put my blade to the captain's neck. 'That's not what we agreed. Now you're going to stay on course and remember, captain, I paid you what you asked for.'_

'_Are you completely insane!? This ship will never hold together. Come on, even you must understand that!'_

'_You sold me your lives. Now keep moving.'_

_Within a minute of that brave speech, lightning struck the airship and it obliterated the right wing. Now unable to properly steer, we fell, crashing and tumbling to the hungry waters below. I wondered how many days had passed in that hazy state of mind. That girl's voice, her face, it returned to me. And then Ascard appeared before me. The gods had guided me. This was my destiny.'_

'_Destiny?' Knight growled._

_Merchant continued to read, 'A cruel twist of fate brought about that meeting in my youth as well as our sudden separation. I've come here to ascertain my feelings for girl, who has sat so deeply in my mind. Everything is in the Mystic Valley. Everything I am searching for.'_

'_You must be joking! It's not true! He abandoned his home and his family all for the sake of some woman!?' Knight's blond hair fell haphazardly in his furious eyes. 'Pathetic!'_

'_Sounds like an interesting guy to me,' Merchant smiled. _

'_What?' Knight hissed._

'_He's a lot better than my old man who only knows how to count piles of money.' The brown-haired man turned with a gleam in his eye. 'Come on, knight, face it. He lived an interesting life.'_

_Knight snarled. _

'_It's okay, knight,' the girl said trying to calm him down. _

_Up on the deck, the crew was on the lookout. 'Can't see a thing up here,' one of them complained. 'Nothing but ocean as far as the eye can see.' _

'_Keep going straight ahead.' Gadeth ordered. 'Merchant said this is supposed to be the right course.'_

'_Yeah, but can we trust that guy, Sarge?'_

'_Knight said to do it, so we're doing it.' Reaching over, he clicked on a communicator. 'Peil, how's it look down there?'_

'_It's gonna take a while longer. It's gonna take a while longer to import the control chamber parts we got from Merchant's antique Guymelefs.' _

_Back in the room, Merchant continued the book: 'Blue, Sixteenth Moon: Driven snow and jagged rocks blocked my path as if to test those that challenged the mystery, but there – I met an old man. There was one other who believed in the existence of the Mystic Valley and was in search of it. When I asked him his name, the old man answered Scientist.'"_

"Scientist…? Really? What an unusual thing to call a character."

"Missing name…" Van quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, I find it strange that the author never makes up names for her main characters. It's like 'Knight' and 'King', and 'the girl' and 'princess'. I mean, cat-girl, Merle, has a name and Dilandau has a name, but no one else does."

"Merchan'," Van piped in with a nod.

"Yes, him too," she shrugged with a smile. "Oh, well, maybe there's a reason."

"Or bad wrihing…"

"Be nice, Van."

"'_What Scientist told me was most interesting. That he too was looking for the Mystic Valley in search for the mystery of Atlantis. Even more surprising was his claim that he came from the Mystic Moon just like that girl…'_

_Merchant stopped reading and all eyes fell on the psychic. Her green eyes widened and she stared faintly into the Merchant's softening face. 'Sh-She came from the Mystic Moon?'_

'_Just like you.'_

_Her breath caught and her vision flashed. She was seeing a mountain, a steep cliff, a man was climbing it. His hands trembled as they searched for crevices to hold onto. 'That… That must be Knight's father…' she breathed. As he pulled himself over the cliff, a burst of white light slipped from the clouds and pierced the ground before him. _

_It's that light… the light that had carried her away with the king…_

_The light disappeared and a figure remained. _

_A girl._

_With long hair, but very familiar green eyes. _

'_I know you…' the psychic whispered. Turning she saw Knight's father had stood up and was beginning to walk swiftly to the strange girl. He knelt before her in the dirt and held her hand. Clutched in her fingers was a toy fan. _

'_I can't believe it…' the man said in awe. 'You're from the Mystic Moon! _

_Together, as the moon raised high in the sky, they walked to the cliff's edge and sat down. 'You know, when I left on this journey, I'd planned to leave ties behind. But you,' his soft blue eyes focused on her brilliant green. 'When I look into your eyes, I begin to think it was all in vain. I'm very sorry. You will forgive me, won't you?'_

_She didn't answer. She didn't have to. _

_Was the apology really for her? _

_Or was it meant for someone closer to his heart?_

_She gasped and a beam of light shined down on her once again. Locked in surprise, their eyes continued to connect as she was lifted slowly from the ground. He reached out to her, but she just missed his fingers. _

_Her vision flashed again… a long haired figure calling to her from the doorway of her home. Not her mother but-_

'_M-My grandmother…' she gasped out, flickering back into the candlelit room. _

_All eyes were on her in shock._

'_It was my grandmother…'"_

"Hold up, hold up, hooooold up," Van interrupted swiftly. "Her grandmoher? Her _grandmoher?_"

"That's what the book says. Her grandmother was the one who gave her the tarot cards and pendant, remember? It makes sense." Nurse nodded.

"Her grandmoher randomly appeared in 'his world and slepth with Knigh's faher?"

Nurse's cheeks blushed red and she flipped back a page defensively. "It never says anything about them _sleeping _together!"

"Sure did imply."

"There was no implication of the sort! It just had them talking."

"Oh man!" Van wiggled his eyebrows mischievously. "Barely legal if Psychic girl and Knigh' are second cousins! Or would he be her uncle in 'his case?"

"Quit it, quit it! You're grossing me out!" Nurse made a face at him and Van laughed.

"_Barely legal_, Nurse… "

"Give it a rest! I'm winning that steak!"

Van snorted. "And encouraging incesth…"

"They are _not _related!"

"_The sky was a gold-grey over the smoky industrial city. Inside Zaibach's stronghold, one of the General of the Four Demon Armies, Adolphus, kept his hand close on the hilt of his sword and the other bracing his chin on his throne._

'_General Adolphus, we have come to ask your permission to take back Dilandau.' A sleek voice echoed from a tall, thin man._

'_HEH! A sorcerer asking for my permission!? He may be under my command, but you sorcerers were the ones who sent him to me in the first place. Do you mind telling me why you want him?'_

'_We've received word from Stratego that he's ill.'_

_Adolphus laughed darkly. 'You're telling me that the monster is sick? It's amazing how wonders never cease.'_

'_There's nothing to worry about, General. Once we have treated and he is fully recovered, we will return him to you.'_

_Ill was a bit of an understatement. _

_As his high shrilling scream bounced raucously on the walls of his metal prison, the boy felt the restraints on his wrists and legs biting into his thin skin deeper and deeper. He couldn't escape! He couldn't break free!_

_Where was he? What was this place? He knew long ago, but now all he saw were chains. These biting chains._

_Oh, he was alone. So very alone._

_He had friends once. He had a life… no… did he? Where was he again? Why was he chained? _

_Voices talked above his head, but he heard not a word of it._

'_He is becoming more unstable…'_

'_What is the cause?'_

'_The fate alteration experiment wasn't completely successful… We will keep this from Lord Stratego…'_

'_Very well…'_

_A name! A name slipped into his mind and Dilandau cried it out. _

'_CHESTA!' More names! More people! He knew them! He wasn't alone! 'GATTI! DALLET!'_

_There was no answer. No one came. _

'_Where are you?' he wept, his eyes blindly searching. _

_He… was alone…_

_Wait._

_Why was he chained?! _

_Where was he?!_

'_He'll be in danger if this keeps up.' _

'_Put him to sleep. Once we return to the homeland, we will perform another fate alteration.' _

_He had no more names to cry out for help._

_So instead, Dilandau fell asleep with a scream on his lips." _

"Damn…"

"Yeah…" Van and the Nurse had the same exact expression as they looked at each other.

"Never thought I'd feel sorry for Dilandau."

"I know..."

"_In a dark chamber inside the floating fortress, the Stratego stood before his Emperor as the old man breathed out the words describing his visions: 'Ascard…. They are heading for the Mystic Valley.'_

'_They're heading for the Mystic Valley? You mean the one of legend?' _

'_Yes…' the Emperor drawled the word out. 'The homeland of the people of Atlantis. The Draconians… they found it…'_

_In that instant, as if the skies themselves heard that conversation from many miles away, clouds gathered above the traveling levee ship and began pelting it with rain and lightning. As the crew slipped over the controls and steered around the dangerous swelling tempest, the group inside heard only the low-drone voice of the Merchant as he continued the story:_

'_White, Third Moon: Scientist and I have come upon a more shrouded and thick fog. The Mystic Valley must be just beyond this place… but Scientist disappeared… I-I know not when. Were we separated by this thick fog? Or could it have been- no, I should just focus on reaching the Mystic Valley. If I reach the Mystic Valley, then I will solve the mystery of Atlantis. If I do, I'm sure I'll be able to see that girl again.'"_

Van snorted loudly and Nurse looked up to give him a sharp glare. "Stop that."

"'_The girl, holding the pink pendant in her trembling fingers, was startled by Knight's shouting voice, 'I've heard enough!' Watching him with large eyes as he left the room, she tried to call him back._

'_Wait, Knight!'_

'_Running away, Knight?' Merchant smirked. 'It's interesting how this could get such a rise out of a Soldier of Caeli. Very interesting…'_

_Knight stopped at the doorway and glanced back with a snarl. 'You know, Merchant, I don't think we're going to be friends.'_

'_HA! What a relief! Thank goodness,' the brown-haired man laughed. 'I'm not interested in being friends, Knight.'_

'_Merchant,' the girl frowned. 'That was really mean.'_

_Standing up, she ran after Knight. Princess and the king sat up startled while Merchant sighed, 'Oh well, looks like another woman hates me…'_

_The girl's feet followed Knight's. She rounded a corner and saw him standing before a circle window with a painful look on his face._

'_Knight…?'_

'_Hey…I-I'm sorry you had to see all that.'_

'_That's alright!' she said instantly. 'I-'_

'_I'll never be able to forgive him. I'll never forgive my father. Not a man who abandoned his family!'_

'_I just don't believe that. I mean, come on, think about it, you could have just thrown your father's journal away, but instead you kept it all these years.'_

'_Hmm…' Knight grunted._

_She walked timidly closer to him, her arms clasped in front of her shyly. 'I think somewhere deep down you wanted to know about your father. You never let yourself forget about him. Even when felt angry. You're a kind person, Knight. I don't think you could hate someone that much. If you were really that cold inside, I don't think I – or any of us – would like you. Tell me the truth: deep, deep down you want to forgive him.'_

'_Perhaps I was just a little scared…' Knight murmured. 'Scared to find out he really abandoned us. Perhaps, deep down, I didn't want to accept that.'_

'_Oh, Knight…'_

_Knight turned to her, his blue eyes soft. 'I apologize. You will forgive me, won't you?'_

_Looking into his troubled face, the girl realized that-"_ "Will you cut that out?!"

Van had been making small fart noises with his mouth throughout this entire exchange. Stopping, he gave her an innocent blink. "Wha?"

"I know you don't like Knight, but please, don't distract from the book!"

"Fiiiiine…"

"_The storm outside had grown stronger and stronger. The ship tossed left and right, fighting the biting winds that tore at its wings. Merchant glanced up at the swinging lamp overhead, his brown-eyes gleaming with excitement. 'Well, we're almost there, everyone!'_

_The king and Princess remained silent, their thoughts both focusing on the two who'd left the room several minutes ago. Glancing down with deep mahogany eyes, the king roused Merle where she had fallen asleep on his lap. 'I'll go and take a look,' he said, standing up. 'You stay here, Merle.'_

_Her cry of protest when unheard as he left the doorway and followed the same pathway as the girl and Knight had taken. As Knight approached the girl, his blue eyes warm, the levee ship gave a rattling lurch and tossed her into his arms. _

_The crew shouted in surprise. 'What the hell?' Gadeth called, holding onto the thick telescope for support. 'There's levee-stones flying out there! Keep your eyes peeled, men. Those things can kill us.'_

'_YES SIR!'_

_She blushed heavily, feeling his strong arms wrapped around her back. A few seconds more and she gathered her wits. Pushing against him to free herself a little, she stammered. 'I-I'm sorry…'_

_They both turned as footstep echoed and the king appeared from the hallway. He let in a sharp breath at their embrace. Her blush grew deeper and she was frozen staring into disbelieving mahogany eyes. Knight stood still, his arms still holding her waist. His eyebrows narrowed almost protectively._

_Suddenly, Merchant showed up, startling all three of them. 'So, this is where you guys are. Let's go to the pilot house. Come. We're almost there.'"_

"Poor King…"

Van nodded slowly.

"_Levee-stone ahead!' one of the crew announced, squinting through the fog. 'Right to port!'_

'_Aye!' The pilot roared, swinging the wooden wheel. Outside, the ship barely grazed a heavy stone floating in the air. _

'_Hold on! It shouldn't be much farther!' Gadeth called out as the rest of the group climbed on deck. As the words cleared from his lips, the sky suddenly opened up and a brilliant white light rushed forth; parting the angry clouds. _

'_A clear patch!' Merchant grinned, stepping forward excitedly. 'The Mystic Valley is just ahead!' _

_The fog and clouds faded and the girl and king stepped forward curiously. Glancing down the windows they could see huge white-capped mountains right below them. It was breathtaking, but she couldn't help asking, 'This is the Mystic Valley?'_

'_There's nothing down there,' the king said solemnly. _

'_No way… that's impossible…' Merchant groaned behind them, holding the journal wide. _

'_Is everything okay?' Merle chirped._

'_A page has been torn out…'_

'_SARGE!' A panicked voice came from the communicator. It was from the men in the Guymelef hold. 'It's a Zaibach floating fortress!' From the open hatch, the men saw the black castle rise from the same white fog they had just fought through. _

_On the fortress, the co-pilot raised his eye from the telescope and announced, 'Austurian Shift spotted.'_

'_Good.' Stratego nodded. Pressing a button on the communicator panel, he said, 'Naria, Eriya, do you read me?'_

_From inside a silver mecha, a woman's voice uttered back, 'We read you, Lord Stratego, and we're ready to go.' From the gold, 'We are prepared to bring back your brother.'_

'_I'm counting on you.' Stratego murmured to the twins, his eyes closing almost in prayer. 'Brother, what is it you want to see in the Mystic Valley?'_

_The hanger dropped and the gold and silver Guymelefs were deployed. Streaming white jet smoke, both cat-ladies rushed towards the levee ship._

'_Let's do it.'_

'_I'm ready, sister.'_

_Nearing the ship, the silver smirked. 'No doubt about it.' _

'_It's them alright,' the gold remarked. _

_Knight and Gadeth stood side by side, their minds clicking into battle-mode. 'They're right above us,' Knight hissed. _

'_Sir, they're forcing us down!' Gadeth roared._

'_How's my Guymelef coming?'_

'_Not even close! We're barely halfway done!'_

_The girl was still, watching this exchange with mixed feelings of fear and trust. She knew Knight would protect her, but… seeing the panic in his blue eyes… she had to look away. Turning her green orbs to the sky above, she suddenly heard a voice as if whispering in her ear: 'My child, if you wish hard enough your wishes will come true. I want you to have this…' The image of a wizened face; a small smile on her lips as she held out a necklace. It circled lazily in the air. _

'_Grandma…' The girl lowered her head, closed her eyes, and clasped her fingers around the necklace's chain. 'Please, show us the Mystic Valley. Please… show it to us…' She felt the wishes of all those around her. _

_Merchant's wish: 'Not after coming this far! I want to see the Mystic Valley, damn it!'_

_The King's wish: 'Mother, what is it you want me to do?'_

_Knight's wish: 'I can't die here. I'll settle things once and for all in the Mystic Valley, father…'_

_The flying women swirled together, soaring high above the levee ship. Together, as one, they came crashing down just as Gadeth predicted. The silver licked her fangs hungrily and the gold let out a laugh._

_Stratego, his eyes still closed, felt a strange pull on his mind. His sharp eyes opened as he saw a vision of the pink jeweled Escaflowne and a bright pendant necklace shimmering as one. 'No…' he whispered, but it was too late. The levee ship in front was suddenly engulfed in a brilliant white light. It blazed up in the sky catching the entire ship and the two women currently flying down to attack it. It knocked them back violently, making the mechas spin wildly out of control. A portal ring flickered into view from the pillar and Stratego's mahogany eyes glowed red. 'It can't be…' he hissed. 'The gate of Atlantis… it's opening…' The ring became clearer and clearer; a dark circle stretched out in the sky. _

_Within seconds, the pillar of light flickered away._

_And with it, the levee ship.'"_

"End of the chapter and time for me to head back," she closed the book and set it in her lap. Her green eyes twinkled mischievously at Van. "Guess they're in the Mystic Valley… and Knight hugged her…"

Van waved his hand in the air with a roll of his eye. "'Hink wha' you will, Nurse. You'll see I'm righ'."

"Well, the suspicion will have to wait until tomorrow then. I know you need sleep. You've got a busy day ahead." Nurse leaned forward in her chair, resting an elbow on his bed and planting her chin in her palm. "I'm so happy for you," she smiled. "I just knew you were so strong."

"Like an ox," Van felt his lips curl up automatically.

Her smile slipped slowly. "Can I ask you something? It may be a bit personal, so feel free to say no."

"Go ahead."

"Mr… I mean, Van… do you know why someone would sneak into the hospital in the dead of night? Why someone would want to… to…"

"Kill me?" Van said softly, lowering his mahogany eyes to the quilt.

"Yeah…"

He was quiet for a moment, the memories of the life he'd once had, the success that had rained down on him… followed by the solid, earth-shattering defeat complete with a scorching hot pain blasting into his skull with the sound of three quick pulls of a trigger.

"I understand if you can't."

"Nurse… I'd… I'd…" His throat suddenly felt tight. His hands shook slightly against the covers. Noticing, she swiftly entered Nurse-mode and stood up to tuck his hands warmly under the blankets.

"Van," she breathed his name gently, slipping the blankets back over his chest. "You have had such a long and hard journey. My curiosity gets the better of me sometimes. I should never have asked."

He felt the thin line of awkwardness between them. He could tell she felt it too.

"I can' 'ell you," Van struggled, his eyes locking on her green.

Suddenly her face turned mischievous. "How about if the girl kisses Knight?"

He blanched. "Wai', wha'?"

She smiled. "If the girl kisses Knight then you have to spill your guts."

"I-I…"

"Oh, come on, the way she behaves it'll never happen."

"Bu-Bu…"

"You don't want to make another bet?" she blinked in mock-innocence.

He exhaled quickly. "_Fine._ If she kisses Knigh'…"

"Promise?"

"Sure, sure."

* * *

He was dismissed.

He walked out of the office, his head down.

The silver was nowhere in sight. No matter. If she wanted him, she'd find him.

_Morals_, she'd said, sitting on top of him. He had morals.

Sex, money, power… where were the morals?

He was a killer.

He was Cain.

He stared at the drawer until exhaustion overtook him.

He fell into trouble sleep in his chair.

* * *

Van wasn't improving as well the next day, but the rehab attendant was still very enthusiastic.

He was nowhere close in attempting to stand. His legs shook pathetically if he tried to move them too much. They had him practice flicking his tongue in and out, up and down, side to side, and back again. Apparently that helps with the letter "T". Yeah, still sounded like a five-year old with a speech impediment.

He had to hold his arms out as long as he could. Half a minute wasn't so bad.

All of that didn't matter because here came Nurse again in the evening!

"How was your day, Van?" She asked sweetly, the door closing behind her.

"Meh," he answered simply, remembering the unwanted tears that had hit his eyes as he struggled to keep his foot in the air. "Yours?"

"Daydreaming about the Mystic Valley. Let's see what happened, shall we?" She winked.

Always the same.

He settled back once more to listen…

"_The golden Guymelef flipped over and over; however, much like the pilot inside, it landed on its feet; skidding to a halt in the snow. 'Grrr, sister…' the gold hissed and she spied her silver sister coming beside her. 'What should we do?'_

'_Stand guard there, you two,' the low voice of the Stratego rang from the communicator. They looked to their left and spied the floating fortress. _

'_Lord Stratego…'_

'_There's absolutely no entrance to the Mystic Valley. None. No such entrance exists…'_

_Inside the open portal, still trapped within the beam of light, the levee ship had completely shut down. The entire group, parts of the crew included, braced themselves. _

'_The hell! She's not responding! The lift indicator is off the scale!' the co-pilot yelped. _

_The girl, holding onto a railing on the window, blinked and gasped. With a grunting screech, the levee stopped rising and slowly began to descend. They were coming back out of the portal. But instead of ice-capped mountains below, they saw-_

'_So that's…' the king started._

'…_the Mystic Valley.' Knight finished._

'_That's right,' Merchant had his hands pressed on the windows. 'The lost capital of Atlantis…'_

_Below them was a vast shimmering city; however, white towers were crumbled; the stone marble scorched with ancient fire. Vegetation had invaded almost every open crevice; uprooting walkways and shooting through crackled rooftops. Despite all this destruction, it was still beautiful. _

_It was still the closest thing to heaven they had ever seen._

_Still clutching her pendant tightly in her hands, the girl approached the glass slowly. 'So, this is the Mystic Valley?' At the end of her sentence, her pendant instantly began to shimmer brighter and brighter and brighter until – she disappeared._

_The group gasped as one. Then Knight stepped forward._

'_Wait, where did she-?' And he disappeared as well._

'_Whoa, Knight!' The king yelled, before he too was gone._

'_My Lord?' Merle cried in panic. She didn't disappear, but clawed in the air where he once was._

'_Where's commander?'_

'_He's disappeared!' Merle shouted almost in tears._

'_What's going on?' Gadeth asked bewildered._

'_There she is!' the co-pilot cried looking through the telescope. 'I see the girl down there!'_

'_Wh-What the hell…' Merchant brushed his brown hair with his fingers confused. 'What's going on around here…?'_

_Just as the pilot had announced, she stood still on the broken cobble-stone, her green eyes staring at the quiet world around her. 'I know I've seen this place before,' she whispered stepping down the crumbled path. She approached a crushed staircase that was overgrown with shrubs. 'This is the place I saw in the vision – when the king almost died…' she realized with wide green eyes matching the flora around her. Standing on the precipice of the stairway, she looked out at the vast abandoned buildings. It stretched for at least a mile, ending with a large crystal-blue lake. _

_The king, on the other hand, was amidst another type of ruin. Instead of white marble and crystal skies, his mahogany eyes feasted upon a grey, ashy world. Crumbled statues, molten brick houses; he blinked. A feather had just crossed his eyes. With a gasp, he glanced up at the buildings standing before him – and he knew. It had been so long, but he knew. 'It's Fanelia…' he breathed the word, his heart beginning to ache. Just as he said the word, he felt someone watching him. Turning swiftly on foot, he caught mahogany eyes in soft, pale features. Framed by enchantingly long black hair, wearing robes thick and regal, his mother glanced at him through sprinkles of feathers. _

_Not grey, but green, Knight stared hard at the burning sunset in his eyes. He knew this field he was standing in; he knew it from his dreams… and his nightmares. A figure appeared beside him and he turned swiftly. There she was - the cute little thing. Giggling and smiling at him with her joyous face. Her curly blond hair bounced in the wind as she turned to run away. 'Sister!' Knight cried out, reaching for her disappearing form – but too late, she faded away just like in his dreams… 'Sister, no!' his cry was taken from his throat as he was suddenly no longer in the field, but standing outside an old villa. A villa he knew too well…_

_The girl, walking down the steps with her pendant grasped in front of her, passed by a still working fountain and was going to keep exploring until something caught her eye. 'Wait, that's…'_

'_There you are!' Merle's shrill voice echoed from far behind her. As a rush of footsteps came up, the cat-girl grabbed the girl's arm roughly. 'Where's my lord? Where did he go!?'_

'_Amazing…' Merchant whispered, noticing what the girl was staring at. Through a weave of thick branches, a giant stone tablet rested before them. And etched into the surface was: 'Atlantian writing… It's a monument with Atlantian writing. These are the ruins of Atlantis alright. This is the Mystic Valley!'_

'_Can you read what's on it?' Princess asked Merchant._

'_New Galatica Era, 13__th__ Moon…' the girl read with her head tilted slightly._

'_You can read that?' Merchant was shocked._

_Stepping forward, she touched the monument hesitantly with her fingertips. Instantly, the foreign letters brushed against her mind and she felt herself getting pulled in. With a short gasp, she said, 'We are the descendants of Atlantis. The people known as the Draconians. We were born in the capital of Atlantis which lay on the Mystic Moon.'_

'_M-Mystic Moon!' The Merchant uncharacteristically stuttered. 'The Atlantians were people from the Mystic Moon!?'_

'_Atlantis… her power had become great and her people fit to surpass the gods. It was not enough. They constructed a horrible machine; transforming human thought into energy. It made them omniscient and omnipotent. They sprouted wings on their backs and even changed their shape. However…' In her mind she stood on a mountain top, looking down at the smiling angels as they celebrated their own success and glory. She knew what would happen. _

_She already knew the rest of the story._

_She saw the huge rolling explosion. It blasted like a fiery hand of judgment; searing everything in its pathway. Suddenly she was in a circled arena, standing with the last remaining Draconian people. Each beautiful face curled in fear and sadness, they held up pink stones together as one. An old man in the center, his beard white and long, joined them; holding up a pink pendant laced on a golden chain._

'_Oh, it's my pendant!' she gasped. _

_As the old man lifted his hand into the sky, grasping the necklace in shaking fingers, an eruption of pink light billowed out and covered the sky. _

'_Their powerful will brought forth a new world in the heavens: Gaea. This was the wish of Atlantis: We wish with our everlasting regret that our foolish mistakes may never again be repeated. Gaea… a beautiful world. Embraced by the heavens. Loved by the water. Cradled by the land.'_

'_Sooo, the power of their will created Gaea…' Merchant said scratching his ponytail. 'A machine that can transform thought into energy… that is the secret of Atlantis?'_

'_Yes,' the girl said looking at her pendant worriedly. 'But how did this-'_

'_I entrusted it to her,' a voice echoed from a cold dark place. Blinking in surprise, she turned and found she was no longer in the Atlantian ruins, but now on a snowy, grey mountaintop. And looking straight at her... _

'_Father!' a familiar tone bellowed out from her left. Her heart skipped a beat as Knight rushed forward._

_Meanwhile, the king looked out at the ruins before him. His burning grey Fanelia still locked in its shadow of suffering. The feathers of his Draconian heritage weaving over his head, he gasped as a pillar of pink light raced forth from part of the forum. 'Is this… a memory from a past life?' he breathed in awe. _

'_Yes, a memory of blood-stained Draconians. A memory that runs in your veins, my lord.' The king tossed left and right, looking for the one speaking. And then, manifesting before him like a dark shadow was-_

'_Balgus…' _

_His scarred face looked down on the king and he felt the familiar wash of fear and awe run down his spine. His old instructor, his mentor… his friend. 'Yes, your majesty. You mustn't shy away from your destiny. The Draconians are the descendants of Atlantis. You must fight to prevent Gaea from making the same fate. Do you understand!? This is your destiny!' Taking a step forward, the scene behind Balgus altered into a dull, blue. His mahogany eyes widened as he saw the phantoms of those long dead walking the road to meet their fate. Their ultimate death._

_He had walked the road once. _

'_You must fight with Escaflowne!'_

_The panic, the burning fear, he had seen these shadows. These bloody faces of those he'd killed. The king backed away from Balgus and shook his head fiercely. 'No! No more! I don't want to fight anymore!' Reaching up, he grabbed his long black locks in his fingers. _

'_I'M SICK OF IT!' _

_She blinked. _

_She was no longer hearing Knight's voice. She no longer was in the snow. The girl heard the echo of pain and sadness lingering in the king's screams. THE KING! _

'_Are you okay?' the princess asked seeing her jerk in surprise._

'_I-I can see them!' she declared, pointing at the monument. 'Knight and the king are in there!' Her vision showed her swinging pendant. Left and right, left and right -_

_She saw Knight standing before a dark grave his blond head bowed in sadness. 'Oh, please, Mother…' he whispered._

'_Knight…' a figure called to him from the shadows. Knight straightened up; anger palpable on his beautiful face. He turned to the man, his blue eyes steeled._

'_Father… it's you…'_

'_Knight… I'm so glad you came. I see that you have followed my wishes. Now, where should we begin?'_

'_What could we possible have to talk about?' Knight snapped back._

'_So, you have become a Soldier of Caeli. Your mother must be proud. How…' the spirit hesitated. 'Is your mother? How is Insia?'_

'_Mother died while you were away!'_

'_Oh, I see… so Insia is…' the spirit raised a hand to his eyes, his voice catching on her name. _

'_Why are you crying!?'_

'_Anyone who as lost a love one will always shed a tear.'_

'_LIAR!' Knight roared. 'You never loved my mother! You broke her heart!'_

_The girl, watching on from far away felt her heart clench with sadness. 'Oh, knight,' she breathed. _

'_Yes, you've always hated it,' a deep voice boomed from her left. The girl swiveled quickly and gasped. _

_King let out a painful cry as a slash came close to his body. Grasping his sword with shaking fingers, he was trembling from head to foot; his mahogany eyes wide with panic. 'No, please!' he begged. 'Please stop! Get away from me!' _

_The ghosts, tall and looming, came closer. They were numerous. Their evil eyes sunken in with dark twisted thoughts. He screamed, his fright forcing him to fruitlessly slash the air. He didn't want to do this! He didn't want to cut them, to kill them! From out of the shadows behind him emerged a white monster. _

_The one he had trusted his life with._

_The one who would eventually crucify him._

_Escaflowne…_

'_He's so scared!' the girl cried through her fingers._

'_What is it? Knight?' Princess asked desperately._

'_My lord?!' Merle grabbed her arm._

_Merchant glanced up startled, his sharp eyes catching a brilliant light flowing from the middle of the portal. 'Damn it, Gadeth, I don't like the look of that.' He murmured to the second._

'_Do you think we'll be stuck here if we stay any longer?'_

'_This place is off Gaea, but not a part of it. It's out of our hands.' _

'_Oh, isn't there something we can do?' Merle wailed._

_Her pendant was in her fingers… the power to grant wishes… _

_It was worth a try._

_Everyone stood back as the girl raised her necklace to the monument and whispered the words: 'Please, I beg you, send the king back, and knight back, and the rest of us.'_

'_DON'T!' a call resounded from the monument. _

_The girl gasped and glanced up. A woman was in the intertwining branches, her long black hair floating in an unfelt wind. Long, white feathers drifted around her 'No, you must not use the power of your wishes! Your wishes are rooted in deep anxiety! Such anxiety only makes those wishes real.'_

'_My wishes do that…? You mean, I'm the one who-'_

'_Yes,' the woman answered solemnly. 'You are the one who is making my son and the others suffer…'_

'_You mean… but I was just-'_

'_Fortune-telling?' the mahogany-eyed woman stared straight at the girl. 'You may try to predict the future, but that's not what happens…' A vision of Balgus, collapsing on the ground in a growing pool of blood – another of Knight, a cremma claw digging into his chest inside his Guymelef – another of the king, wrapped in bandages filling with his blood-_

'_I did that?' she whispered horrified. _

'_Your troubled heart, amplified by your fortune-telling, chooses the most unhappy outcome out of many unforetold futures. Yes, even now your heart is full of uncertainty…' In her mind, the pendant swung, Knight – his blue eyes filled with pain, the king – his face shaking with fear… back and forth, back and forth…_

'_It's all my fault… I kept pulling unhappy futures into place… my wishes did that…? It's my fault…' she buried her face in her hands, feeling the pink stone of the pendant brush against her forehead. Her eyes burned with the horror of the discovery. All of that pain. All of that sadness and anger and death and blood. _

'_It's mine…' she let out a sob and collapsed on her knees. She didn't want to think anymore. She was scared. So scared. A power she trusted had turned against her. In fact, it had always been against her. _

_She just never realized._

'_No, sweet child, believe in them…' a whisper echoed to her kindly. Her shoulder's stiffening; the girl heard a rustling noise getting closer and closer behind her. 'Believe in the people you love.' _

_She turned and saw green eyes smiling beautifully at her. A young girl with long hair in a braid and a blue kimono. In her hand, a spinning red fan. _

'_Grandma…' _

_A shiver went down the cord of the pendant and Knight was whisked to another location. The cold snaked through his clothes as the blustering winds carried thick drifts of stinging snow. He shivered, but started straight as a dark figure appeared before him once more. This time, his father wasn't speaking to him, but limping across the frozen terrain. Clutching his left arm, he was leaving a trail of blood in the hard packed snow. _

_The low hum of a hover cart came louder and louder, and his father gritted his teeth angrily. It stopped several yards away with a loud hiss and the door slid open. Filing out of the cart were-_

'_Zaibach soldiers!' Knight cried. _

'_They chased after me after I left the Mystic Valley.' His father appeared in front of him, watching the scene of his own death. His expression was one of defeat. 'They were relentless. They, too, were after the mystery of Atlantis.' _

'_Mystery of Atlantis?'_

_Both men watched as a signal was made to the soldiers and they all dove in with sabers raised. His father's life-dwindling body fell to the red snow. _

_Inside the cart, an old man with a long white beard waited. A soldier came up, clutching a book. _

'_Excuse me, my Emperor; we have the item for you.' Holding up the book, the old man took it with a shaking hand. Opening it with a glare in his eye, he hissed, 'Oh, the trouble you've caused me…' But then his fingers faltered. Pages had been ripped out. Very important pages indeed._

'_Damn you… so, you won't tell me the secret of the Mystic Valley. Even at the cost of your family… your life…' _

_They left him to rot, dropping the journal at his side. The hover cart speed away through the blizzard. With his last thoughts, he clutched the pendant to him. 'The power of my wishes… just one more time… I want to see that girl…' his face collapsed on the snow. _

_But his wish was heard._

_Slowly it came forth, the pillar of light breached from the sky and shinned down several feet away from him. He turned his face to the light and creaked open one eye. The snow drifts came to a sudden stop as she emerged from the pillar of light, her hair still in braids and her blue robs still draped beautifully across her slender shoulders. _

_He couldn't believe it. Her eyes, her beautiful face! She was here! She had come! 'It's-it's you…' he coughed. 'B-but you… you haven't changed… you are the same as when I saw you before…' Her green eyes looked over his broken body and she fell to her knees in front of him. 'I see… so the mystery of Atlantis is the power of the heart. The hunch I had back then was right!' With a groan spilling out of his throat, he raised himself with the last of his strength and raised the hand clutching the pendant. 'Please, I want you to take this… you have to believe, my love, that wishes do come true… no matter where you are… they transcend both time and space…'_

_She held out a shaking hand and he collapsed his palm on top of hers. Instantly the pendant began to glow within their closed fingers and another pillar of light appeared around her. She was lifted, her green eyes wide and sad, back into the sky – taking the pendant with her. She was gone._

_He fell forward, his eyesight fading. He could no longer feel the pain. His hand fell upon the journal and he with his last breath he whispered, 'I am so sorry, Insia…'_

_The power of his heart was not strong enough to carry his entire being to her – his life was slipping away. _

_However, the wish was heard – and granted."_

"So, the power of Atlantis is the power of wishes. What an interesting concept: to have wishes granted if you prayed hard enough." She looked up at him with a faint smile in her eyes and he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Wha?"

"O-Oh, nothing," she dismissed and turned back to the book.

"_The journal which was touched by his still fingertips began to glow. It faded away and reappeared in front of a lovely blond woman. She was startled at first, but as soon as she picked it up, she knew what had happened. _

'_My husband,' her voice broke on the word. _

_Knight watched like a ghost in the wall, his heart heavy. 'Mother… mother loved father until the very end,' he said quietly. 'And father felt the same way about her…' _

'_I loved her,' his father said beside him. _

'_Then why did you leave!?' Knight roared back, his anger instantly inflamed. _

'_Because I married and fathered children out of duty to my family. I tried to live by denying myself. But people eventually want to break free from the flood of their fate. I saw that girl for the second time and I finally understood.' His father turned, fixing Knight with a kind look. 'I loved Insia very much and I love you, too, Knight.' _

'_F-Father…' _

'_People are such fools. What does it matter if the power of Atlantis is the power of your wishes? I didn't even know what I wanted. Insia…' He took a step away from his son. 'Knight, be true to yourself and be true to your heart….' _

'_FATHER!' Knight cried out as his father began to fade away. 'FATHER, NO!' He began to chase after the broad back, his arm outstretched to bring him back._

'_KNIGHT, STOP!' The girl appeared like a shadow, her fear for Knight vibrant in her eyes. She reached out to him. _

'_FATHER!'_

_She grabbed his hand and a brilliant light struck his vision. It cleared to show a white marbled city in tattered ruins in front of him. He stood barely breathing as a water fountain behind him rushed like a waterfall. He knew where he was now. Atlantis. The Mystic Valley. But his father…_

'_Oh, Father…' he whispered. _

'_Commander!' Gadeth's familiar tone leapt out at him from the right. He looked over to see the group together. His second, Princess, and Merchant were all coming up to him. 'Good to see you safe, sir!' Gadeth smiled in relief._

'_Thank goodness you made it back, Knight,' the Princess breathed._

'_Was it her?' Knight motioned to the girl still standing at the monument._

'_Yes,' Merchant nodded quietly._

_Her head was bowed. Her short bangs fell over her forehead and into her eyes. She was searching, searching, where was he, where was he…? The pendant shook in her trembling fingers. She had to find him._

_Where was the king…?_

_Outside the portal, however, danger was growing. The silver and gold cat-women stared at the portal with apprehension. _

'_That thing looks dangerous…' the gold hissed._

'_I supposed so… you wanna give it a try?' _

_Without further confirmation, they leapt as one and rushed into the deep pit in the sky. Back at the floating fortress, the co-pilot announced, 'Naria and Eriya's Terrings are climbing; heading into the gate of Atlantis.'_

_Stratego stepped forward, his mahogany eyes widening. 'It's too dangerous! Stop, both of you!'_

'_Don't worry,' silver cooed back into her communicator. 'We're always very lucky.'_

'_That's right, we'll bring back your brother for you.'_

_Their white jets sputtered as they pushed through the darkness. A white light was beginning to open from the darkness. They tossed their controls further, fighting harder for speed. _

'_Come on! Just a little more…'_

'_Yes! Just watch our luck and our power!'_

_In the Mystic Valley, the entire group gasped as a circle of white light appeared on their side of the portal. Only the girl, her pendant still searching, remained still and unmoved. _

'_W-What's that!?' Merle wailed, latched onto the girl's arm. _

_Still stuck in the memories and the Mystic Valley's power, the king had fallen; the tip of his blade braced into the stone; holding him up as his only support. He couldn't stand. He couldn't fight._

_A clash, a whistle of the wind rushing past a sharpened sword as it swung… he heard these and his stomach curled. So much death at his hands. _

_So much destruction._

'_Listen!' the voice boomed behind his back. Balgus. 'I hear the sounds of war!'_

'_I-I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to fight…' He whispered over and over. _

_The portal continued to open, omitting a yellow light that blinded the eyes. As it cleared, the two twin Guymelef's emerged from the portal, their weapons at the ready._

'_The enemy!' Knight shouted as they landed with a thundering hiss on the ruins below._

'_We made it!' the silver declared._

'_We really are lucky!'_

_In the levee ship, deep inside the hold, the remaining crew members stumbled back as the Escaflowne's jewel began to glisten. _

_And suddenly, it disappeared from sight."_

"Finally!" Van cheered with a deep sigh. "'his has 'aken forever!"

Nurse glanced up at him and snorted a laugh. "You'll get your fighting sequence soon enough, Van."

"_Behind the Zaibach twins, a pillar of molten pink light whisked the sky and tumbled to the ground. A white behemoth emerged, its red cape flapping. Both women hissed in surprise. Teleported inside, a mahogany eye stared down at his controls. _

'_It's Escaflowne!' Knight gasped._

'_It's my lord!' Merle shrieked._

_Raising his face, he met them. 'So, you're the ones who called me back.'_

'_We won't let you go this time,' the gold sneered. _

'_That's right! No hiding behind the kitten!' _

_In his mind, the king saw red smoke and fire. He saw the ruins of his life. He saw his mentor standing firm – the symbol of war. 'You have to fight!' his voice rang inside the king's head. 'Use your bloodstained hands to cut free of the sorrow of war! Fight, your highness!'_

_His eyes cleared. The sword emerged from his back. He stood, his deepest fears pushed aside. He had to fight. He had to protect. _

_He couldn't run away._

_The girl, her mind still attached to the vision, saw his struggle – saw his panic. She wanted to call out to him, but a voice stopped her. _

'_Believe in him...' _

_The familiar green eyes, the familiar blue robes. 'Grandma…?' the girl whispered. _

'_Listen to me, sweetheart, if your anxiety makes bad things happen then the opposite should come true. You must believe in him.'_

_The twins stood transfixed before the menacing Ispano. A shiver of fear rushing down both their spines. _

'_S-Sister? What now?'_

'_He feels different from last time…' _

'_Escaflowne's pain is my pain: the pain of war,' he took a step towards them. 'If this war won't end then I'll be the one to shoulder the burden. I'll shoulder the karma of war! Along with the sorrow of the dead!' He raised the blade high in the air, his past fears erasing from his mind. In their place emerged the spirit of a warrior. His sword pointed to the opening in the portal, a flicker of light brushed down and grew to envelope the Escaflowne. _

_Outside the portal, the floating fortress watched helplessly as the portal's rim began to crack. 'Oh, no…' Stratego braced his metal hand on the window. It was disintegrating. The portal to the Mystic Valley was falling! _

'_Incoming shockwave!' the pilot shouted. _

'_Brother!' Stratego cried. _

_The white light erupting from the Escaflowne gathered further and consumed the twins. The ground beneath their feet crumbled into dust. The light was blinding. With an enormous shockwave emitting from the Escaflowne, both women were flung back through the portal and tossed into the floating fortress._

_The group, on the other hand, felt a cold shiver running through their clothes. The warm, broken marble buildings had faded into snowcapped mountains. The Mystic Valley had disappeared before their eyes. _

"Whoa, whoa, wha' jus' happened?" Van held a hand up to stop her.

"Uhhh," Nurse flipped back a page. "The king somehow took care of the cat-twins and then brought them back to the real world… I think?"

"Good, just checking." Van smiled.

"You still don't get it, do you?"

"Nope, made no sense 'hat all," he continued grinning.

She tilted her head with a smirk. "You just like that the king was the one who somehow saved everybody, don't you?"

"Yep."

Shaking her head, Nurse turned back to the page she was on and sighed, "You're hopeless."

"'_The Mystic Valley…' Knight whispered his blue eyes looking around him in surprise. 'It's completely vanished.'_

'_Oh, my lord…' Merle whispered, her claws digging into her palms in nervousness. At her words, the control chamber hissed and opened. As he stepped forward, a circle of pink light appeared in front of him._

'_The power of Atlantis mustn't be reawakened.' A woman's voice called out sternly. As the light receded, the long-black haired woman came forward towards her son. _

'_It's his mother…' the girl gasped. _

'_Huh? Where? I don't see!' Merle frowned._

'_Please, my son, don't forget: It's your will that determines Gaea's future. It's all up to you…'_

_A desperation filled him. A want. A childish need to be protected by gentle hands._

'_Mother!' _

'_Don't forget…' she echoed, her wings expanding and her spirit glowing white. A ball of light shinned from her chest as she disappeared and fell to him. He caught it._

_The ball was smooth to touch, a clear blue like the sky. The king knew what this was…_

'_A-An energist…' he whispered. The pink jewel from the Escaflowne began to glow, the power of the energist bringing forth its raw power. _

'_What's happening to Escaflowne?' the girl cried out in shock. _

_The group stared in awe as the power of Atlantis shinned forth from the Guymelef._

_The power of will._

_The power of wishes."_

"What in the world even happened in this chapter?" Nurse frowned at Van. "I agree with you, this doesn't make sense. They want the power of Atlantis, but then they shouldn't use it because it killed the Atlantians, who apparently willed Gaea into existence with the last of their wish… power… thing. But what bugs me is if the power of wishes is so dangerous, why make a world to put your power on? Wouldn't it just doom the world they created to destruction just like theirs? If they were so brilliant, they should have just destroyed this pendant and been done with it. No power for anyone. No wishes for anyone. Everyone goes home happy!"

"No' so simple," Van piped in with a finger. "Some'himes, war is inevihable, Nurse. Zaibach obviously would have found some o'her way."

"But the reason why Zaibach gained power was because of this old man, Scientist. He's the one creating war because of his wishes. He wants to harness the power of Atlantis – which they stupidly put on this world. And because of that, the war began."

"Buh if 'here was no power of Atlanhis ho begin with, 'hey'd find some'hing else. War is war, Nurse. Sure, 'his wish 'hing is not helping, buh some'imes ih's unavoidable. Zaibach would find some o'her way to conquer. De Emperor is a power hungry sociopa'h. He has no remorse over wha he's done ho his soldiers. Dilandau, for example, was an experimen' and was obviously 'ortured as a child. There would be a war no matter what. 'Da world isn't so simple. Behrayal, lies, murder… it happens because of human causality. Not because of some ancien' power. War is inevitable because of human nahure."

Nurse was thoughtfully quiet as she realized her patient was speaking more from personal experience than the story.

His mahogany eyes rose to stare out the black window on his right. She felt a strange shiver run down her spine. His jaw was locked firm and his tan fists clenched on the bedspread.

"Yes…" he whispered, more to himself than to her. "'De deshiny of human nahure is da be violen'…"

"Well, I still have time!" she said cheerfully, snapping him out of his disturbed thoughts. "I want to keep going if you do."

"Sure," he said softly, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat.

"_The energist in the king's palm glowed, resonating with the Escaflowne's jewel. Down below, the pendant – still clutched in the girl's fingertips - began to glow as well. _

'_What's going on?' Merchant said with a confused frown, scratching his brown curls. _

'_Escaflowne… it's-'_

'_My lord!' Merle's orange body raced forward._

_Holding her pendant close, she screamed as a pillar of white light laced all around her body and she began to slowly rise to the sky. Another pillar rained down on the Escaflowne, tossing the cape upward. _

'_No… NO!' Knight shouted, running forward._

_Reaching for his sleeve, the Princess' fingers barely grazed him as he raced into the light after the girl. _

'_No, Knight!'_

_The light evaporated briskly._

_And all three were gone once more."_

"Can they just stay put!?" Nurse scowled and Van snorted a laugh.

"'_Damn… what happened to them?' Gadeth asked bewildered. _

'_I-I don't know…' _

'_Oh, my lord…' Merle whispered. 'My lord's disappeared…'"_

"_For 'he fifth time!_" Van wailed in a high-pitched squeal that cracked his voice a little.

Nurse looked up sharply in surprise and burst out laughing. "That was the… funniest thing… Oh, my goodness…You surprised me!" she put a hand on her chest after several seconds of pure laughter and took a deep breath.

"You should do voices more often, Van. You seem to have a knack for them."

"Only Merle's," he winked.

Still giggling, she continued.

_Deep in the heart of Zaibach, numerous men filtered around tubes of glowing green water. The tubes of various shapes and sizes spanned the walls for hundreds of feet. Amidst the illumination, in the middle of the room, stood a large metal telescope. It wasn't pointed at the sky, but at a large blue ball of energy in the ceiling. The mass inside the ball swirled like cream. As the tubes bubbled up the green water, the liquid inside the ball swiveled a little faster. Below, his bleary eye peeking through the telescope, an ancient old man's mouth pressed into a thin line as he waited for stability. His long white beard draped over a metal incasing that held his fragile body. _

_The sorcerers around him began to announce: _

'_Power-spot energy influx seventy-two percent!' _

'_Causality detector normal!' _

'_Power stable. All functions operating properly.'_

'_Fate oscillator has reached critical level.'_

'_Power-spot energy charged one-hundred!'_

'_Fluctuation rhythm .73! Value within tolerance!'_

'_Wonderful…' the Emperor praised lowly, his eyes glistening in anticipation. 'The time has come. The day that I imagined for so long has finally come. Now… ALTERING FATE!'_

'_Altering fate!' A sorcerer to the far right confirmed, pressing his long fingers over several buttons. _

'_Altering fate!' another echoed, his head turned down to watch his typing fingers._

'_Altering fate!' A lever was pushed upward._

'_Altering fate!' Hands turned knobs and wheels. _

_The power of wishes… the energy of the power-spot being used to obtain his ultimate goal… his ultimate ideal future. Outside the castle, built into the streets, the fate alteration device began to illuminate a violent green; blanketing the entire city in the eerie light. The old man's eye was fixed inside the telescope as the blue color of the globe began to spike into sharp white. He cackled with dark delight. _

'_Come on,' he encouraged the machine as it began to hiss. 'Show it to me… show me my dream. Show me my ideal-' _

_The globe instantly went dark blue and the running engines shuddered to a stop. The old man blinked in surprise and then furrowed with anger, 'Why, why, why is it not working? What in the world…?'_

_A beam of white light suddenly shot from the ceiling inside the chamber. All sorcerers' eyes fell on three figures as they emerged into view. _

'_Knight?' the girl whispered in surprise. _

'_Where are we?' the blond man asked, looking around._

_The king, his mahogany eyes dancing back and forth, immediately took off to the left. Watching him, the girl saw Escaflowne had followed as well. He leapt on the Guymelef's bended knee and checked it over swiftly. The usual healthy pink jewel on its chest was illuminating a nasty green._

'_That light…' he said, putting his hand over it. He immediately was shot backward, landing hard at her feet. _

'_Oh, my goodness! Are you okay?' she asked helping him up. _

'_Just what's going on!?' the king yelled at the silent Guymelef. _

'_It's like we're in some kind of big building,' her voice echoed. _

'_Building? I guess you could call it that.' Knight said, his eyes still looking for some sort of clue. Suddenly, all three of them gasped as the floor began to move upward. Stumbling, she fell into the king's back and caught herself on his shoulders. 'The floor? What's happening?' _

'_Welcome, ye who are bound by the fate of the dragon!' a deep voice boomed. Smoke erupted from the floors and ceiling; covering their eyes with fog._

'_Who's there? Where are you?' the king roared. _

_Clicks of gears, whispers of latches, a gargantuan metal monster stepped forward from the obscurity and towered above their heads. Draped in the armor of a Guymelef, an old man's head was visible at the very top. His long white beard draped low over his chest. _

'_What's that?' the girl squeaked, backing away. Both Knight and king stepped forward to shield her. _

'_You're the one who brought us here!?' King yelled._

'_Yes, everything answers fate's call.'_

_The king took another step closer. 'Fate?' _

'_I am he who guides Gaea's to her future. The leader of the Zaibach Empire!' The old man announced._

_All three stood frozen with mixtures of fear and shock radiating from their faces. 'I-I don't believe it…' Knight gasped. 'W-We've landed in the heart of Zaibach!'_

'_Oh, God…' the girl whispered._

'_So, he's saying he's the leader of Zaibach…?' King's face changed instantly from shock to rage. This fragile old man was the one who had caused all this pain… all this horror… 'He's the man my brother serves…' he growled. Turning swiftly, he snatched Knight's sword from its sheath and held it to charge. 'If I kill you all the tragedy in Gaea will end!' _

'_Perhaps,' the man said simply. 'Conflict may erupt at any time, any place. War is the destiny in which humanity can never wash its hands.'_

'_And what do you know about a people's destiny?' he snarled._

'_I possess the power to predict fate just as the people of Atlantis were once able to do.'_

'_The people of Atlantis…' the girl whispered. 'W-Wait a second. Are you… Scientist?' _

'_That was my old calling. My old name. Scientist was who I was when I lived on Earth.' _

'_Zaibach's Emperor is a man from the Mystic Moon…' Knight realized. 'So, then you're the Scientist that my father met.'_

_His wizened eyes narrowed. 'I see… so you're that man's son… fate brought you here as well… such a wretched man, he was… if only he had told me the secret of Atlantis…'_

'_Damn you!' Knight roared._

'_But… I have solved its mystery. I have finally completed the Atlantis machine.'_

_The girl straightened her arms to her side. Taking a brave step forward, she said, 'Tell me why… tell me why did you come to Gaea! If you hadn't have turned up, everyone would be happy here!' _

'_No, young lady, Gaea is steeped in blood. It was steeped in blood long before I arrived… just like the Earth.' Her shoulders were visibly shaking. 'Yes,' the man continued. 'The planet Earth… long ago a question took ahold of me. All bodies share of common principle: based on their masses, bodies create a force, which draws them and other bodies together. That is gravity. I wonder why it is that such an invisible force exists. It is the way of the world and people are drawn to each other and that people kill each other as well! All varieties of order exist in the world through this endless repetition of death! But what is the source of that order? Yes…' he hissed, answering his own question. 'It's destiny… that fundamental force which governs the universe.'_

'_Destiny…' she whispered, her fingers almost cutting on the golden chain of her necklace._

'_But how do you define destiny? Does it obey the same laws? To solve the mystery, I spent my life in research and experimentation. However, I was unable to find a solution. Even at death's door, my desire did not weaken… on the contrary, it grew much stronger! I wished for it! I willed it! And I found myself looking upon a strange land. A wasted land with two moons in the sky. The place was Zaibach, a barren land with a harsh climate and a people living by harvesting her meager out-bringing. They suffered under constant fear of invasion. Theirs was a brutal fate. And then it came to me: I have come to save these people. I gave them everything I had. I gave them the wisdom called Science. I taught them to tame nature - that science was meant for them. The people followed my wishes and this utopia, Zaibach, was founded. And then I heard of the legend of Atlantis, which dealt with the creation of Gaea. That was my ideal! The solidity of Altantis to create destiny! Ever since, I have devoted all my knowledge to continue my search for those principles. And finally! I have built this! A device that creates destiny!'"_

Nurse stopped, her green eyes lifting from the page to focus on Van's.

"Wha?" he asked curiously as a small frown popped on her face.

"You said before that betrayal, lies, and murder happen because of causality. Because it is in human nature, human destiny, to be that way."

"I speak as I find, Nurse," Van nodded his head. A shadow of pain flickered in his skull from his gunshot wound.

Her right hand moved to play with a corner of the page nervously. Biting her lip, she asked, "Would-would you consider _me_ that way? That my nature is to betray? To lie? To murder?"

He sucked in a quick breath and it choked him. Coughing briskly, he swallowed several times to recover himself – and to buy himself some time. This was a trap. This was one of those woman traps that men fell for. If he said yes, she'd get mad or upset at him because he'd be comparing her sweet disposition with a potential murderer - but on the other hand, she was very, _very_ good at lying. Even if she didn't realize it herself.

So, she did have that nature, but not as extreme? Oh, god, he was starting to sweat. Why did he have to say that to her? As her large beautiful green orbs studied his face, he swallowed and opened his mouth to reply.

He was cut off.

"It's fine. It's fine." She smiled gently, holding up a hand to stop him. "I'm not trying to pick at you. I've had my fair share of bad deeds and lies. I'm human, after all. I just want to understand something. If you say that I am destined to lie and murder, that all humans are – by nature - evil, then what's stopping me from hurting you or anyone I care about? What makes me want to help instead of hurt? To cherish instead of betray?"

"I… don'… know…?" Van stretched, trying to see where she was going at.

Suddenly, her cheeks blushed deeply and she blinked several times. Lifting the book, she childishly covered her red face from his view.

"I-I should keep going. My times almost up!"

"Bu' Nurse-"

"'_They say that the people of Atlantis converted human thought into energy and thus controlled their destiny at will. Yes, Gaea is one of Atlantis' creations.'_

'_Gaea was created by Atlantis…' the girl whispered, remembering her vision in the Mystic Valley. _

'_To operate this machine that creates such wonderful power, I had to find the power-spot. That place of infinite power the Atlantians left behind here on Gaea. That was fulfilled by the conquest of Freid and now, the final key… the dragon… Escaflowne… it has to be pulled to me by the threads of fate!'_

'_E-Escaflowne!?' The sword in the king's hand trembled. _

'_It is what I've dreamed about for so very long. The legendary Atlantis machine! My Fate Alteration Engine is finally complete!'_

'_Your Fate Alteration Engine?' the king repeated angrily. _

'_That's not right…' the girl piped in. 'By foolishly using a machine to change destiny, you've made so many people needlessly suffer. It's just not right!'_

'_Sacrifices are a necessity in creating a new destiny!' the old man roared back. 'A small misfortune becomes a cornerstone for a greater happiness! If I can create a perfect fate, we all can be blessed with a perfect existence!'_

'_Wait!' her thoughts couldn't gather. Just from her small amount of wishes, she'd created so much pain for the people around her. This man was using the power on a whole other level - and the result was Fanelia, Freid, Austuria… not just individual people, but entire nations! 'That's-that's… all wrong! It's wrong to be happy with a fate created by some machine! You're crazy!' Her vision clicked and she saw the world around her crumbling apart. The entire world, Gaea, cracking like an egg before exploding into a fiery rage. _

_This man would destroy the entire world!_

_She fell backward as the fire rushed through her and she landed in Knight's arms. _

_No!' the king shouted, moving to her side. 'Is she okay?' Seeing her pale, comatose face, the king stepped forward to shield both her and Knight from the old man._

'_Now sit back. Sit back and watch with me. Watch the new fate of man…'_

_Meanwhile, in the dead of night, the levee ship flew tirelessly through the air. Standing on the balcony of the hold, Princess' blue eyes searched the passing mountains fruitlessly. At her back, a newly rebuilt grey Guymelef sat in its hanger: Knight's Guymelef._

'_Staring out there won't do any good,' a droll voice spoke out. Turning her head, she saw Merchant appearing from the doorway. 'We're heading back for Austuria. Gadeth has just agreed.'_

'_You're just going to abandon them?!' She cried. 'I won't let you!'_

'_Listen, we tried our best and there's no way to tell where they went. It's just a waste of time flying around in circles.'_

'_It's just a waste of time…' she repeated, her anger growing. 'Merchant, you're such a-'_

'_Politician?' He offered hardly a glimmer of humor in his eyes. 'You're right, Princess. Those Zaibach fools are serious about destroying Gaea. I'm going to try and stop them, but I'm going to do it my way.' Slowly, a small bit of warmth hit his face and his lips turned in that familiar smirk. 'Don't worry, Princess, they'll be back.'_

'_Merchant…' she whispered, noticing his sincerity. _

'_You know, I'd like to think everyone's wishes are connected somehow.' He turned back to the doorway with a laugh. _

'_And I very much hope that mine will get across one day.'_

"I like Merchant," Nurse announced abruptly. "I like his character and how he's written."

"Finally given up on Knigh', have you?" Van instantly teased.

"_Never_," she shot back with a playful look of her own. "I'm just saying he's a good character."

"_In another hold, one much darker and more sinister, the Escaflowne was being held with straps of liquid metal as the sorcerers gathered the correct equipment for the procedure. _

'_Who would believe the Ispano Guymelef would have such power?' One of them shouted, pulling a lever. A blast of sporatic shocks washed over the metal monster and wiggled into every crevice and gear. A full scale model of the Guymelef appeared on a short screen. Guiding a huge thundering claw, another sorcerer answered, 'We must solve this mystery ourselves no matter what the cost may be. We must not allow Stratego to gain any more ground.'_

_The declaration was unheard by the three newcomers, who had found themselves thrown into hanging cages. Slowly, the girl felt the coldness of the cage floor spreading through her clothes. As she became more aware of the bruises and scrapes on her arms and knees, she gently opened her eyes._

'_So, you're awake,' Knight's voice echoed to her left. _

_Sitting up carefully, she saw he was in a separate cage similar to hers. _

'_Are you alright?' he asked._

'_Where are we?' she gasped, looking around._

'_Looks like they don't plan on killing us right now,' the king murmured darkly to his knees. _

'_I-I had another vision,' the girl stuttered and the king looked up immediately. 'The ground gave way and the world exploded!'_

'_Perhaps it was another image of the destruction of Atlantis,' Knight offered gently._

_She touched her head tentatively. 'I'm not sure. I think it was larger…'_

_His hand reached for the bar as if to steady himself; the king whispered, 'I hate to say this, but maybe you saw the future of Gaea.' _

'_Oh, god, I hope not!' _

'_Mother said that the power of Atlantis must not be awakened yet. I know now that she was right. If the Fate Alteration Engine is activated, there's a good chance that Gaea will meet the same fate as Atlantis.'_

'_It… It can't…' she breathed. Suddenly, the king grabbed his chest with a painful groan. His right hand clutching the fabric of his shirt - where his heart was. As if swallowing down his pain, he sank to the floor of his cage._

'_Wh-What's going on? Are you okay?' the girl sat up as he collapsed on his side. Coughing, he spat up blood._

_Back in the hold, the claw latched onto the pink operating jewel of the Escaflowne. _

_On the cage floor, the king was feeling the Guymelef's pain. His heart… they were ripping out his heart!_

'_Speak to me! What's going on?' she called, as he trembled violently and choked up more blood. _

'_It looks as though they've started to dismantle Escaflowne…' Knight said under his breath, his blue eyes wide._

'_No!'"_

"No!" Van sat up from where his back was braced on the headboard. "No, no, no, no!"

"Let me keep going. It'll be okay!" Nurse said gently. "Calm down, Van. He'll be alright."

"_The claw still latched firmly on the jewel, three drill-saws shot sparks around the sides; severing it further. His face pressed against the floor, the pain was more than he could bear. His vision was blacking out, his adrenaline spiked out of control; he was so close to losing complete consciousness. Struggling with all his might, he turned on his back and grabbed at his chest with both hands. He screamed, blood dripping from his open lips._

'_Please, please, hang on,' she whispered frantically, her eyes wild. Without thinking, she reached through the bars to him and her fingers almost grazed his arm. She instantly got a vision of Escaflowne's left arm… his arm…_

_They were connected, so maybe…_

_She backed away with a gasp. _

'_What is it?' Knight demanded._

'_That's… that's it! If you can really feel Escaflowne's pain then it has to work the other way around! If your thoughts can reach it, you should be able to move it no matter how far away you are!"_

"See? He'll be okay! He's even cooler than before, Van! He might be able to move the Escaflowne without actually being in the control chamber!" Nurse looked up excitedly to see his face had turned sour. At that, she burst into unexpected laughter.

"Wha?" he asked his lips still down in a frown.

"What in the world is up with that face?" she giggled. "You look like a pouting child!"

"Idiot au'hor didn' need 'da almost kill him!

"Well drama's gotta be in here somewhere, so deal with it. Stop making that face and listen."

"_Knight looked at her in surprise and he saw the desperation on her face. Her desperation for the king. He was worried, too, but… his eyes grew slightly dark as a hot furtive thought passed his mind. It left as quickly as it'd come, but it left him feeling out of place. _

'_Wh-What do I do…?' The king groaned, swallowing down his agony._

'_I-I can help, too,' she said bravely. 'If we work together, I know we can do it!'_

'_That's dangerous!' Knight argued. 'You're going to feel it too!'_

'_He-He's right… th-there's no need for you… to suffer as well…' _

'_What are you talking about?' she cried, her green eyes glistening with unshed tears. 'If we don't do something fast, you're going to die! Now, give me your hand!' She reached through the bars once more, her fingers outstretched as far as she could. He was shaking, his consciousness slipping away, his breathing slowing with asphyxiation."_

"Ha! I've been there!"

"Hush!" Nurse shushed him.

'_No,' Knight demanded, that furtive look back in his eyes. 'Don't do this…'_

'_It's okay… I can handle this…'_

_The king reached through the bars; barely able to hold his hand steady. She stretched further and touched his fingers. He scooted further, gasping for breath, to lace his fingers in-between hers. _

'_I know you can do it…' she said, her green eyes deep on his mahogany._

_Back in the chamber, the old man looked through his telescope. He saw their outstretched hands lacing together. 'Now what are those two up to?' he mused to himself._

_Instantly, his machine spiked with a silver power and the engine shut down with a hiss. _

'_Gah! It's gone!' the Emperor shouted. _

_In the hold, the sorcerers continued their onslaught on the jewel – and this time, the girl felt it, too. With a gasp of pain, she clutched her heart with her other hand and her body fell against the bars. _

'_Please!' Knight called. 'Stop!'_

'_I'm okay,' she said shakily, her eyes still connected to the king's. 'Now, listen to me, you must picture Escaflowne. Concentrate as hard as you can. Reach it… please…' _

_Her eyes closed in prayer. Knight's blue eyes, however, stayed on her pain-filled face. She was sacrificing herself. Using her power to help the king. She could very well die with him joined like this! Why would she do such a thing!? Why would she do this just to save him!? _

_He felt that burning feeling again… he didn't like it."_

"Wha' a dick," Van scowled.

"Be nice!" she scolded.

"_The king tried to follow her commands. With her joined in on the pain, she could die, too. He had to do it. _

_He had to do it to save her. _

'_Move…' he hissed, trying to focus his mind. 'Come on.' More blood spilled down his chin and he gritted his teeth to concentrate harder. Looking at her closed eyes, he suddenly felt her will through their conjoined fingers. He felt her push him up. She gave him strength. Through her mind, he could see the Escaflowne – trapped in the liquid straps, the claw and saws gnawing at the heart. _

'_Move!' he growled at it. 'Move now!'_

_The jewel instantly turned a brilliant pink. The right hand of the Escaflowne lifted, snapping off the binds. With twitching lights and broken dancing wires, the white Guymelef tossed its left arm forward and crunched into the claw – breaking it into pieces._

'_H-How can that be moving!?' One of the sorcerers shrieked. The Escaflowne struggled to stand, kicking its unyielding legs and arms wildly. The heavy foot smashed into a large walkway, bringing it thundering to the ground below. _

'_Ah! Watch out!' the men cried before they were crushed under the metal weight. _

'_What's happening!?' The Emperor roared his machine completely unresponsive. 'Why can't I see? Is… is it the girl's power?'_

_The king's fingers tightened on hers and he sighed with a grateful breath. The pain was gone. With her anchoring his mind, he willed the Escaflowne to stand and transform._

'_Dragon…' he whispered. And he knew it was done. The Escaflowne was coming. With a thundering metal crash, the ceiling suddenly burst apart and white light came pouring down. _

'_What!?' Knight cried, unaware of what had happened. _

_The dragon tumbled down towards them. The girl opened her eyes with a sigh of relief as it flapped its large wings awaiting them. _

'_We did it! Escaflowne came! We both made it happen!' she smiled at the king – their hands still connected - and he couldn't help grinning back. _

_Out of the cage and into the cock-pit, they flew through the large castle – occasionally breaking pieces of wiring and knocking over a metal staircase or two. _

'_We better get out of here and fast!' Knight called through the wind. _

'_I know!' The king shouted, slipping his controls to the right. A Guymelef appeared around the corner. _

'_Oh, damn…' the king cursed. 'Knight, hold her!' _

'_Right!' _

_The blond man put his arms around her body just as the king tossed the Ispano back into Knight Frame. Jumping with a skid to the floor, Knight held her princess-style as more Guymelefs showed up from the rear. The black-haired king gritted his teeth, noticing he was surrounded. _

'_I'll hold them off! Get her to safety!'_

'_No!' she called out, but it was too late. He unlatched the sword and parried three blows to his back. _

'_Go! Be safe!'_

_Knight still held her in his arms, but her eyes were to the king. Knight felt that strange burning feeling again. He could feel it boiling in his stomach. Her attention was fully focused on the back of that Guymelef. Every part of her body screamed to stay, to help, to save him. _

'_I'll meet you on the roof, okay?! I promise you!' the king called to her, his head turning just for a moment to catch her eye. _

_It was like that was all she needed to hear. _

_Instantly, she trusted she'd see him again._

'_Alright!' she nodded. 'Watch yourself!' Jumping down from Knight's arms, she glanced at him for only a second. 'Let's head to the roof,' she said before racing off down the hall. _

_King watched satisfied as her small form disappeared in the darkness before turning back to his opponents. Driving the butt of his sword into the control jewel, the Zaibach Guymelef hissed and fell to the ground in a shattering mess. Four more came forward to take its place._

'_What?' the Emperor growled as the forms of the Knight and girl running tossed forward on his telescope. The wheels started turning once more. 'I can see them now…' he sat back in confusion. 'But why?'_

_Two soldiers jumped from around the corner and Knight instantly knocked them out. 'Where now?' he asked and she lifted her pendant to concentrate. _

'_That way!' she pointed to the right. It led to a flight of circle stairs that spiraled upward. _

'_I hope the king's alright!' Knight panted._

'_He promised me. If anyone can do it, he can!' she gasped, keeping up with his pace. _

_At last, after climbing, they emerged on the roof. The sky held an unhealthy greenish tinge and her nose wrinkled with the sour smell of industrial pollution. Immediately, she looked over the edge, her eyes searching for a hint of white. _

'_You believe in him, don't you?' Knight asked her quietly, his blue eyes sharp on her back. _

'_What was that?' she turned to him._

_Knight sighed. 'Never mind.'_

'_This city seems so lonely,' she commented looking over the smoky town. 'I wonder if the people here in Zaibach are really happy at all.' _

_A clapping of footsteps announced the approach of unwanted guests. As the Zaibach guards filed out of the doorway, Knight stepped bravely forward. _

'_I'll never let you have her!' he shouted, taking out his sword. 'Even if it cost me my life!'_

_WHOOOOOSH! _

_A white dragon emerged from over the side and the king snapped a left wing as he passed over their heads. The slapped wind tossed the soldiers backwards onto the ground. 'I'm here!' he shouted lowering down to the ledge. 'Hop on!' _

'_There you are!' she cried, her green eyes lighting up. 'I was waiting for you!'_

'_Here! Take my hand!' he reached out to her and just as she was about to grasp his fingers, she felt her feet lift from the ground. Knight's face was crunched with fury as he cradled her close and hopped into the cock-pit. With a raised eyebrow, the king lowered his hand awkwardly and turned back to his controls. _

'_Okay, don't fall off!' he said, guiding the dragon away. As they cleared the castle, shadows of flying Guymelefs followed in their tracks. The king maneuvered around the tall buildings and smoke stacks, diving under a bridge. He lost one Guymelef with the bridge, but the others came in quick._

'_They're getting closer!' Knight warned, his arms still holding her tightly. _

_The king pulled up, throwing the dragon into the sky, but Knight was right. They were getting closer with each passing second. _

'_Come on, Escaflowne! Fly faster!' the king pushed his controls hard. _

_They were raising their arms for a cremma claw attack. _

'_Fly faster!'_

_The girl screamed. Knight watched with blue eyes wide._

'_EVEN FASTER!' He roared. _

_The jewel flickered with a pink light. _

_Feeling his will, the dragon obeyed. _

_Folding its arms and legs in, a jet erupted from behind the Guymelef and propelled them violently forward. Like a streak of starlight, they disappeared into the night's sky, leaving the Zaibach Guymelefs dazed and confused. _

_In the empty chamber, the machine was stopped moving. The old man sat stunned, his ideal future flickering in and out of the telescope. 'When the girl and the dragon come close, the image of the future wavers… That girl from Earth is the key to everything! I must separate them!' _

_A black floating fortress headed towards the capital halted in the sky. 'Object closing in from the direction of the capital!' the co-pilot announced. 'Speed is unusually fast! Be on alert!' _

_Stratego turned his head towards the window just in time to catch a glimpse of it. For only a brief moment in time, identical mahogany eyes stared hard at each other._

_And then were divided. _

_After several miles, the king let go a breath of relief and he felt the Escaflowne do the same. The legs and arms reemerged and the wings spread out wide. The tail – that had once turned into the jet – unhooked and began to sway back and forth lazily. _

_They were safe – at least for the time being. _

_Knight's arms were still wrapped around the girl. The burning hot feeling had continued to lick his stomach throughout this entire escape. _

_Her face squashed against his chest, she muffled, 'Uhh… you're hurting me…'_

'_Huh?' he blinked, letting her go. 'Oh, I'm sorry!'_

_As they looked away from each other awkwardly, she scooted a little and her shoulder bumped the king's waist. _

_He glanced back for a brief moment and she felt her heart slightly jump in surprise as his eyes connected with hers. _

_Letting go a nervous breath, she twisted her head down to stare in the only direction that was safe-_

_The floor."_

"Goodness! That was insane!" Nurse put in the bookmark and shut it with a thick snap. Setting the book on his bed, she yawned and stretched.

She stopped mid-yawn when she saw his face.

"You're not winning the steak," she translated instantly dropping her arms.

His grin widened. "I so am and you know it. Even an evil emperor wants 'em separahed. His machine doesn' work!"

"That may be so, but Knight won't give up without a fight."

"Bah, king could 'ake him on any day! He jus' made Escaflowne into a rocke'!"

"True, that was pretty cool… But, Knight was willing to die to defend her. And she hasn't kissed anyone yet."

"King," Van said simply, crossing his arms childishly. "King, king, king."

"Just saying his name doesn't mean it will happen, Van," Nurse rolled her eyes, but snorted a laugh. She stood up and grabbed the book.

"King."

"It'll be Knight, you just wait."

"Nope, you'll owe me a sheak. Deshiny says so."

"Alright, you dope, you keep dreaming that. I better head back." She put her hand on the doorknob, but didn't open it yet. "I forgot to tell you, I'm off tomorrow night."

"Ahhhh, noooo…" Van collapsed back into his pillows dramatically.

"But I'll be in the day after."

"You doing any'hing wih' Allen?" He said with a teasing grin.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she giggled, opening the door.

"Hey, Nurse?"

"Yeah?" She looked back curiously.

"You help inshead of hur'… love… righ'?

"…Love?" her cheeks instantly blushed prettily. "What are you talking about?"

He actually felt the back of his neck grow hot at her curious and shy expression. "You love people. You help because you love?"

Her mouth curled slightly. "There's more to it than that. Unlike you, I believe people are naturally good. We all are born with a sense of morality whether we decide to follow it or not. Eventually, good will catch up to us sooner or later. I guess you could say I believe in people."

"Ophimistic…"

She shook her head. "Not optimism, just faith. I guess it's a little hard for someone in your shoes. You've been through so much. Many call me naïve and foolish and innocent, but I like to think of it as strength. Sure, I'll be let down by people. Sure, I'll even let some people down, but if I don't have faith then how can I trust? And if I can't trust then how will I love?"

"So you help because you have faith?"

She grinned. "I had faith that you would get better. You haven't let me down once."

"Does 'hat mean I have your 'rust?" he asked with a nervous twist in his stomach.

"I think it's safe to say you've earned that," she giggled.

The door shut behind her and silence fell over the room.

"Her faith and 'rust…" Van whispered to himself, his eyes watched the door. "Nice da know I've got 'hat going for me…"

But there was the last part…

Love…

* * *

**And we keep going. Thank you to everyone who's followed the story so far or who is just getting into it or really everyone in general! **

**Valentine's Day tomorrow... doesn't mean this story is done though... It's just gotten too long and too fun to write!**

**Gotta jet! Love and happiness to all!**

**blue...**


	6. Chapter 6: Dryden and the Merchant

**And now we continue...**

* * *

The morning was glorious and bright – and all she wanted to do was go back to bed. Throwing the purple pillow over her head, she groaned.

Her phone shrilled with a call on her nightstand. With a grumble, she emerged from the pillow and glanced at the caller id.

Gasping, she sat up and grabbed it. "H-Hello!" she croaked and winced.

"You sound half-asleep," the smooth tenor of his voice rang warm in her ears and she smiled.

"I had long night shifts this week. I'll be on the schedule for most of them for the time being."

"Why is that?" Allen asked.

"Oh, they're understaffed," she lied easily. "No one wants a night shift."

"But apparently you don't mind it."

She straightened her shoulders and her crooked tank-top, "I don't actually. I like the night shift. It's surprisingly peaceful."

"I'll have to visit you again sometime."

Hitomi sighed and rubbed her head with her palm. "I'm surprised they let you do that in the first place. We had just upped security, too."

"I told you before. I can go anywhere I want."

A strangled silence fell between the two of them, until –

"So, what's your plan for today?"

"Uh, make breakfast?"

"You mean, lunch?" Allen's voice held a smile.

"Is it really that late?"

"Probably later once you get dressed."

"Get dressed?" she asked.

"You're coming to lunch with me, right?"

"I am?"

He sighed dramatically. "Don't tell me you don't know!"

"What?" She asked, seriously confused. "Did we plan something while I was asleep?"

"It's Groundhog's Day! The children's parade is going to start in downtown in two hours! You can't miss it! Best corndogs ever made!"

She smiled, actually touched that Allen liked children so much. "Best corndogs? Guess I better get up then! Where should I meet you?"

"How about on the corner of Third and Fifth? That's where it will begin."

"Okay! I'll see you at noon!"

"Oh, and Hitomi, my sweet?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't be late."

* * *

He could stand at last!

Wobbling, braced by three assistants, and in a pool of water, but he could stand! He wished he could kick his heels up in happiness, but all he could settle for was a weak thumbs up to the brown-haired neurologist, Dryden, who made a short appearance to see how he was doing.

Van really liked that dude.

He was flirting with one of the attendants the entire time, but still, he'd shown up. And he returned Van's thumbs up with one of his own.

Van wished that Nurse was here. She'd be in the pool with him. Instead, her friend Yukari was assisting. She was nice, but her hands weren't warm.

Not like temperature warm, but a different kind of warm…? He couldn't explain it even to himself, so whatever.

All he cared for at the moment was he was finally standing on two feet.

Eventually he'd be able to walk and then run and then be let out of this place.

And then he could finally get justice.

* * *

She was standing on the corner of Third and Fifth with her head buried deep in her thick jacket. It was so cold and sunny outside.

A perfect day.

And yet, she still just wanted to go back to bed. Yes, the prospect of corndogs was tempting, but she had a frozen eight-pack back in her freezer.

Why had she agreed to go out?

She checked her watch again, shivered, and waited.

* * *

There was someone new walking around the company.

According to the gossip, he'd been on several cases before – all of them successful. He wasn't an employee, but he had shown up as soon as they contacted him.

Rumor had it he was so good he had already established an 'in' on the case before they'd asked him.

The people around the company parted in awe as he walked by.

He didn't know what this man had been contracted for.

Folken shut his door.

His eyes slipped over the drawer.

The silver-haired woman had shown up yesterday evening. She told him that she'd be out for a few days. Though her lips had smiled that seductive curve, her eyes were frosted. He couldn't bring himself to ask her what was wrong.

That wasn't the nature of their relationship anyway.

Before she left, she leaned to his ear, "Here's where I say goodbye. You're a hell of a lover. Almost makes me wish I could stick around longer." She backed away and her hands cupped his face. They were chilled. "If you see my sister around, tell her to keep her matches on hand, will ya? I'm thinking they'll be flames soon."

Without another word, she'd left.

* * *

It was later that evening, Hitomi sat at her mirror and listened to the microwave whirl in her small kitchen. Sitting on her dresser was Merle the stuffed kitten.

What was wrong with that guy? Was he unable to keep an appointment ever? Did he really have something so important that he couldn't even make his own dates? This would be the second time he stood her up.

How would she react if he called?

Looking at herself, she pictured that tall, blond ingrate in her mind, "Oh, you forgot, did you?" she hissed at her reflection. "You think I'd forgive you for that? This is the second time, Allen! Do you even care about me at all?" She tilted her head haughtily, imagining his remorseful reply. "You're sorry? You're _sorry? _I waited for over an hour! Is it another motorcycle accident? How about a subway accident? Or how about you just aren't attracted to a girl like me!"

Her mouth opened and she gasped at her own words. "… attracted to a girl like me…" she whispered, her green eyes glancing over the image before her. Plain, pale features in a heart-shaped face. A long nose that was slightly freckled. A slim figure with no boobs or butt or shapely legs.

She was a stick with hair.

_Short_ hair.

Reaching up, she touched her locks remembering something a while back. Van said he liked short hair on women. He had given her a huge YES from that brainwave machine back before he could talk properly. She smiled at the memory, her face reflected in the mirror.

Van… she wondered what he was up to. How much progress had he made today? Could he pronounce his "T"'s properly yet?

The microwave beeped.

Her frozen corndogs were ready.

* * *

"Scoot those legs! Scoot those legs! Bend at the knee! And come back up! Scoot those legs! Scoot those legs! Bend at the knee! And come back up!"

Dryden repeated his cheer from the side of the pool. His brown pants were rolled up, his shoes and socks tucked at his side, and he dangled his bare feet in the clear chlorine water. Van, strapped in a walking aid, fought his smile as he slowly moved one foot in front of the other in the water.

Slowly… but he was doing it.

He was walking.

Finally.

"Excellent, Mr. Fanel!" the blond nurse exhilarated. "Now easy on bending your knees. Just submerge to your neck… now stand back up…"

"Bend at the knee! And come back up!" Dryden's voice echoed.

"Doctor, don't you have patients or paperwork to attend to?" The beautiful nurse rolled her bright blue eyes annoyed.

"Oh, Miss Millerna, please don't tell me my cheer is actually bothering you?" the man chuckled. "Scoot those legs! Scoot those legs!" he immediately chanted at Van – who started laughing.

"Geez, Dryden, go away, will you?"

"I'm encouraging a patient in rehabilitation. And besides, Mr. Fanel is my patient, too. Isn't that right?"

"It's true," Van agreed, giving Dryden a quick nod. "He's got to stay to make sure my brain's not broken."

"Exactly!" The man snapped his fingers together. "Now, scoot those legs! Scoot those legs! Bend at the knee! And come back up!"

"Oh, my god…" Millerna groaned. "You two are hopeless."

"No, we just understand each other, right, Mr. Fanel?"

"Like kindred spirits, doctor," Van laughed, not missing a beat.

* * *

Her day hadn't been that great, but at least she'd slept in as late as she wanted. Rolling out of bed at around two in the afternoon, Hitomi fetched her newly pressed scrubs from her closet and grabbed an apple to snack on as she left the door.

Allen hadn't called.

Whatever.

She wouldn't let it bother her… or at least try to…

She arrived to work several hours earlier than usual, her green eyes taking in the bustling nurse station and the various comforting ambient sounds. Her mood lightened considerably as she spied a familiar red head sitting at the desk. She was on the desk phone.

Walking up, Yukari spied her and her eyes went wide. "Actually, she's just arrived. Hold on one sec." Lowering the phone and covering it on her chest, she hissed, "It's Allen! He called looking for you."

"You have got to be kidding me…" Hitomi growled her mood instantly sour once more.

"You don't want to talk to him?" Yukari asked surprised.

"Of course, I don't! That jerk stood me up yesterday! He doesn't even have the decency to call my cell phone?"

"He said his broke."

"_Again_? Yeah, I'm sure it did." The short-haired girl crossed her arms angrily. "Tell him I don't want to talk to him. I gave him one more chance and now I'm done."

"O-Okay…" Yukari nodded her back straightening in defense of her friend.

Hitomi turned on foot and noticed Millerna holding the door for the brown-haired neurologist. He was pushing Van in a wheelchair back to his room. Her heart immediately lifted at the sight of his messy black hair. She watched him turned to laugh at something the doctor said just before the door to his room closed with a snap.

She was tempted to go talk to him. To listen to his opinions and laugh at his silly little jokes and debate over their little world of Gaea and dragons and Atlantis.

"_Betrayal, lies, murder… it happens because of human causality_… _the destiny of human nature is to be violent…_" his words brushed over her.

"…no, she doesn't want to talk to you right now. She's gotta start her shift soon." Yukari's sharp voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned back to give her a grateful look. The auburn head shot her a quick grin. "You shouldn't call up here for her. She's too busy to talk to you anyway. Have a good night, whatever-your-name-is." And she tossed the phone down on the receiver.

"Cold as ice," Hitomi smiled. "Thanks, Yukari,"

"Not cold enough," Yukari growled. "Stand _my best friend _up, will he? I'll kick his ass!"

'_The destiny of human nature is to be violent'… _Hitomi stifled a laugh behind her hand.

Well, in Yukari's case, he was definitely right about that.

* * *

She felt a little better as the afternoon waned into the evening. She got assigned a new patient while she was out and she kept herself distracted by filling out the paperwork for him. Several times, Hitomi found herself looking to Van's door wondering what he was doing. Was he counting down the hours until she was on break? Was he sleeping? Eating?

Shaking her head, she chided herself inwardly and unthinkingly brushed her fingers through her short hair.

He liked short hair…

* * *

Van knew the time.

He had already pushed his pillows up in expectation.

He'd been waiting for this moment all day.

And here she came.

The door opened, she stepped through, and she gave him breath-taking smile.

"Hello, Van," she said his name warmly.

"Hello, Nurse," Van greeted with a small wave, "had a good day off?"

"Oh well, it could have been better," she shrugged nonchalantly. "Ate some corndogs."

"I like corndogs."

She crossed the room and sat on her chair. He watched as she fiddled with the bookmark nervously. "I read the report from Millerna. You got signed off from the pathologist yesterday and you're on the verge of walking."

"I start with the walking bars tomorrow," he boasted. "Graduating from the kiddie pool."

"You're improving so fast. I hope we can finish the book before you're discharged completely." She looked down, her hands trembling slightly as she opened to the next chapter. Van's quick eyes caught her slightly blushing face.

"Hey, Nurse, are you okay?" he asked sitting up slowly with concern. She glanced at him and her cheeks reddened further.

"I'm totally fine," she lied into his face. "I'm ready to-"

"No," Van stopped her. He reached out with warm fingers and touched her shoulder. She flinched slightly and he retracted his hand. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "But something's not right with you. What's going on?"

"Nothing," she straightened her back. "There's nothing going on." Another lie.

"Are you hurt? Did Allen hurt you?"

"No." Lie.

"It was Allen, wasn't it?"

"Van, please, stop asking questions," she said softly. "I'm alright." Lie.

He stopped with a quick sigh. Leaning back on his pillows again, he looked at her face. She was still blushing, but there was something else there. Her green eyes had a strangled emotion in them.

Van chose his words carefully.

"There's something bothering you and I know it," he held up a hand to silence her as she opened her mouth to protest. "You don't have to tell me anything. I just want you to know that I'm here. I will listen if you have problems. Most of the time I'm just watching TV anyways, so conversation is probably good for me." Van grinned slightly, gesturing to the little 19" TV bolted to the wall. "I'm gonna listen and try to help you, Nurse, because you helped me. I realize now that I never said thank you to you. Granted, I didn't have the ability until several days ago, but I want you to know I appreciate you coming in here just to read to me. I appreciate you for being my nurse and not giving up on me even when I almost gave up on myself. You remember that time in ICU after the attack?" She nodded her green eyes wide. "I was pretty done in by that point. I had a chance to let it go. But I heard you. You called for me. You fought to see me. Damn it, this sounded so much better in my head…" he chuckled sheepishly scratching his nose. "I guess what I'm trying to awkwardly say is that I want to be here for you, too, Nurse. I want to be here just like you are here for me all the time. So, when you have a problem, you can tell me-"

Van's speech sputtered to a stop as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Oh, shit, I didn't mean to upset you!" He sat up again, but she shook her head smiling and she wiped the tear with the back of her hand.

"Allen s-stood me up," she sniffed. "He told me he wanted to see me and he stood me up."

"That bastard bailed on you _again_?" Van's eyebrows rose with disbelief.

"I was waiting for his call to explain himself, but he never called my cell. He called the hospital instead. He was actually was on the phone when I arrived in this afternoon. I came in here early though, so that was kind of strange."

"Why didn't he call your cell? He seemed a-okay calling it before…"

"He said his phone broke again."

"Son-of-a-bitch doesn't deserve your time, Nurse," Van dismissed.

"That's more or less what Yukari said. It's… it's not because of me, is it?" she asked quietly, lowering her eyes to the book cover in her lap.

"What?"

"The fact that he stood me up. It's not because of me, right?"

Van fell silent for a short moment, letting his brain absorb the utter insanity of her question. Then he snorted. "What the hell are you blabbing about? Because of _you?_ Nurse, you are aware I just got done with a five minute speech about how awesome you are, right?"

"But what if I'm not pretty enough, or clever enough, or funny enough? What if I'm-"

"Alright, alright, I've heard enough about that. You're asking the wrong questions."

"The wrong questions…" she repeated quietly.

"You gotta ask yourself this instead: Is Allen clever enough for _you_? Pretty enough for _you_? Funny enough for _you_? And you know what the answer is? A resounding _no. _Allen's a prick. He thinks it's okay to dick around with your emotions just because he can. He's the shithead of all shitheads. I'm surprised you've tolerated the bastard for this long."

"So elegantly put," she gave him a watery smile.

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry, I tend to get a little wordy, but it's true."

"It's just… he's so different when I'm with him. He's caring and kind and chivalrous. He's funny and smart."

"This is when he finally shows up, right?" Van remarked.

She was silent for a moment.

"You need to get it off your mind. Let's continue with the book."

Letting out a long breath, she opened the book and smiled. "You're right. Never mind about that… _dickhead_…" she giggled like a little school girl doing something naughty.

He shook his head with a laugh.

God, she was cute.

"I'm not going to talk about him anymore today. Let's keep going then."

"Read on, Nurse," Van nodded.

"_They were one. And they were a force to be reckoned with. _

_The girl read the king's thoughts as he controlled the Escaflowne through sheer force of will. She anchored him with dowsing to keep him from losing control. _

_United together with the Escaflowne, Zaibach didn't stand a chance. They left wreckage in their wake, raging fires and destruction at every attack. _

_With their new found powers, they stood invincible._

_An army of one._

_Such was the vision the Destiny Engine showed them. _

_Zaibach's future was wavering. _

'_Stratego,' a voice barked from the gathering. 'Did you know of this?'_

_The man stood silent against the pricks of eyes that sneered down at him. _

'_Did you know that the dragon would be our greatest obstacle in the path of Zaibach's unification? Did you?!' _

_Still no reply._

'_The Emperor's destiny machine has spoken. The dragons will gather and descend upon us.' The vision flashed before each other their eyes like a death omen. Hundreds, no thousands of Isano Guymelefs striking down the Zaibach at every turn. Their glowing jewels piercing the heavens themselves to bring the floating fortresses to a fiery death. _

'_Indeed…' the word bounced in the silenced room. The curtain behind Stratego rolled up to reveal the Emperor's wizened face on a frosted screen. 'The pull between the girl from the Mystic Moon and the dragon increases. They will leave only chaos for our future. To stop this future from coming to pass, we must separate those two elements.' _

'_Merely separating them will accomplish nothing, Your Majesty,' one man spoke up. _

'_I agree,' another cried. 'I think we should attack with all our forces!'_

'_Then we will be able to crush Escaflowne with no trouble at all!'_

'_Majesty, give us the word and we will attack!'_

'_That will not be necessary,' Stratego cut in smoothly. 'Rather than stir up matters, we need only apply another gravity to the girl from the Mystic Moon.'_

'_Another gravity?' the old man growled curiously._

_Stratego smirked. 'Yes, the power that draws together a man and a woman. To give it a name-'"_

"Hold up, hold up, no, no, no, no, are they seriously contemplating what I think they're contemplating?" Van demanded, sitting up swiftly.

"What? What are they contemplating?"

"Nurse… this… this is _cheating_!"

"What?" she asked frowning.

"They already said that the girl and the king together is a bad thing for them! And even though you don't want to admit it, they had some major chemistry in that last chapter." Nurse huffed at that remark. "They're going to make you win!"

"You're upset because they messing with the king? And that I'm going to win a steak in the process?" she smiled. "There, there, Van Fanel, it'll be alright. They might pull through this."

"'Might pull through this?' You jumping the ship on Knight?" Van asked tilting his head.

"Yeah… kinda… I am… The king's… gotten a lot better. Angel wings and all."

"I knew you'd come around."

"_Back in Austuria's capital city of Palas, the sun set to bring a night of cheer and celebration. The levee ship crew had just settled into their pints, the musicians were beginning to tune their instruments, and the laughter could be heard from every pub on the street._

_It had been three weeks since their daring escape from the Zaibach capital. Upon making it back to Austuria, they met up with Princess, Merchant, and the entire crew. Knight sat with his laughing men, smiling at the crude joke or two rallied by one of them, but mostly staring into his cup – lost in thought._

_Also in the blustering room, his mahogany eyes turned to the window, the king stared at the two moons hanging in the sky. All his life he'd looked up, never realizing how much of an impact it had on his entire world. He had started in this to get revenge for his country, but now… _

_He felt like he had the entire world on his shoulders. _

'_My lord!' He jumped in surprise and held his cup steady as Merle leapt into his lap and licked his face. He turned his cheek away, so she nuzzled his neck instead. Despite her affections, his gaze drifted back to the window – to the two moons._

_It was an early morning for everyone that next day. Call to the stateroom by Merchant, Knight, the girl, and the king stood around his desk with questions on their lips. And then Merchant, with an uncharacteristically serious face, made the announcement._

_The girl was the first to respond. _

'_Whaa? You're getting married! You're getting married to Princess, Merchant!?'_

'_Well, you know, she's finally seen my worth. Personally, I think I would make an excellent king.' The man crossed his arms and braced his legs on the desk in front of him. Tilting his chair dangerously backward, he continued gaily, 'My great wealth and Austuria powers combined Zaibach wouldn't dare to try to touch us. And wars aren't always won with strength. You gotta use what's up here.' He poked his forehead. _

'_That won't matter to them,' the king said quietly, bursting the happy bubble in the room. His mind flickered with the poisonous wishes of the maniac Emperor. 'What they are after is the ultimate destruction of Gaea. How is your becoming king supposed to stop them?'_

'_Oh, ye of little faith,' Merchant sighed, twirling his bangs lazily. _

'_Excuse me, but they were engaged to begin with,' a female voice spoke up from the doorway. The eldest sister, Eris, took several steps in, her eyes cold as ice. 'It's only natural that Merchant become successor to Austuria's throne. Furthermore,' she continued, ignoring Knight's gaze. 'We will even let bygones be bygones when it comes to your crimes.' _

'_Crimes?' Merchant repeated, his chair's legs thumping to the ground in surprise. _

'_Crimes of Knight's rebellion against his country and your attack against Zaibach, one of our allies.'_

'_You're kidding me…' the girl gasped._

'_And after my sister disappeared, Father was so worried that he fell ill.' She turned to give the blond man a sharp glare. 'It was because you took her with you, Knight!'_

_A sharp silence filled the room at that declaration. It was broken by a sharp, 'Sister!'_

_Turning back to the doorway, they all collectively saw Princess standing confidently; her face struggling to remain calm. 'I think we've all heard quite enough!'_

'_Sister, but-'_

'_I said, 'enough'!' _

_Strolling into the room, she approached Knight with a polite smile on her lips. He mirrored her expression. The girl watched on, her heart giving a slight sting, as the blond man gallantly took the Princess' offered hand and kissed the back of her delicate fingers. The king's eyes flicked on her swiftly before turning back to the scene in front of him._

'_May I offer you congratulations on your wedding, Princess,' Knight said softly._

_Later that day, the girl walked into Princess' room only to see it covered in clothes. The blond woman was muttering softly to herself with both hands on her hips. _

'_You wanted to see me?'_

_She turned with a smile on her beautiful face. 'Oh, there you are! I think I found just the thing!'_

'_T-Thing?' the girl stammered. 'What thing?'_

'_A gown for the wedding, silly! You'll need to be dressed up, too! Hey, what about this dress?' she yanked a lovely blue frock out of her wardrobe and held it for her to see. 'Or do you think you'd be more flattering in something with frills?' she dropped the dress and her eyes turned down to search the cloth-sewn floor. _

'_To be honest, Princess, it's not the dress I'm worried about,' the girl admitted. _

_Princess froze for a moment and her face tightened. _

_Then she turned her back, pretending to look in the wardrobe once more. 'I know, it's about the wedding, isn't it?' _

_The girl didn't answer. She didn't have to. Overhead, the sunny day was getting cloudy; making the window outside darken._

'_It's okay,' Princess said with a cheerful voice, 'He's rich, he's smart, he's handsome. I know he'll make me happy.'_

_The short-haired girl watched the woman fruitlessly dig through layers of fabric. A vision of the first time she's saw Princess riding up to the levee ship, Knight's name on her lips, flashed through her mind. So happy… so blissfully happy. She'd followed Knight even at her peril. Her blue eyes had sparkled._

_But now… they had lost the sparkle._

'_He won't,' the girl blurted. _

_Princess dropped the dress she was pulling out and it puddled to the floor at her feet. _

'_Come on,' she continued desperately. 'Don't you get it? Everyone's being so mature, but it's just a lie! You're lying to yourself and that's not fair!' Suddenly, she knew she was at a crossroads. A vision of Knight's handsome face slipped over her eyes. She could stop Princess. _

_Or she could let her continue down this road with Merchant. _

'_Don't give up on Knight. If you do, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!'_

_Her heart gave a small ache and she swallowed down the rest of her speech. _

_The girl wanted Knight. _

_She loved Knight, too. _

_She knew all she had to do was stop talking. Stop telling Princess this was a mistake and Knight could be hers!_

_What am I doing? She thought panicked. But another part of her pressured to keep talking – to put things where they should be. But she wanted Knight!_

_What was she supposed to do?_

'_You're such a child,' Princess smiled sweetly at her confused face. 'Listen, I was going to ask you. I want you to do a reading for me. Tell me my future.'_

'_Your future?' the girl repeated. _

_The princess stepped on the cloth-covered floor over to the window. Opening it, she sat on the balcony with a sigh, 'I'm just not sure,' she confessed. 'I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing. When I see that look on your face, I'm suddenly not so sure anymore. So, I'd like you to do a reading to ease my mind. Tell me my future.'_

_The girl clasped her hands nervously together. 'I-I… uhhh… I'm sorry, but I don't have my tarot cards with me right now? I'll do it later!' she shouted, turning on a dime to sprint out of the room. The Princess watched with mixed-filled eyes as the door slammed behind her._

_The girl, no true destination in mind, ran from the room, down the hallway, down the stairs, out the door, and into the courtyard. Was she running to be free of the responsibility? Was she running to get rid of the painful situation the Princess was in? _

_Or was she running because she probably wouldn't be able to stop from keeping Knight all to herself? She knew the truth, but could she handle it? Could she really give up her feelings for Knight?_

_Collapsing on the edge of a large fountain, she tried to clear her distressed mind. _

'_Hey, there!' A familiar voice called to her. Looking up sharply, she saw the king holding a large bundle on his shoulder. His face fell a bit when he saw her expression. 'What's wrong?' _

'_Oh, hi,' she said softly, her troubles falling away slightly. _

_Unknown to them, unseen forces were beginning to stir against them. Deep in the bowels of Zaibach's Capital, a sorcerer flicked a switch and announced, 'Destiny levels rising smoothly.'_

_A shadow of a man crossed overhead, listening to the countdown checklist. _

'_Shifting karma!'_

_He passed through a tunnel and pressed the door to open._

'_Integrating north five-hundred to chaos threshold!' _

_Upon entering through the door, he heard the voice of his Emperor. _

'_No! If we don't act soon, the dragon and the girl from the Mystic Moon will come closer!' he snarled, his eye pressed to the telescope. _

'_Do not worry,' the dark cloaked man murmured from below. 'The dragon still lacks the courage to cross the line.'_

_But the Emperor had a right to fear. _

_Understanding the girl probably needed a good ear to listen, the king suggested she come along to the large windmill outside the city where they housed/hid his precious Escaflowne. It needed work done on it anyway. _

_And she looked like she needed to get away for a while._

_Walking in comfortable silence through the beautiful green pastures and watching the innocent grazing sheep, she actually felt a bit better. But the lovely surroundings still didn't sooth the sour pit in her stomach. As the king pushed open the large wooden doorway, she climbed the ladder and parked herself on the second story balcony; swinging her legs over the side._

'_So, what's wrong then?' he unshouldered the bag he carried, not looking at her. _

'_Ahh, it's just… stupid,' she murmured. 'I just make myself sick.'_

'_You make yourself sick?' _

'_I'm such a jerk. I play nice, but I butt into everyone's business. I'm an idiot…' she gasped as a large round fruit was suddenly propelled up to her. Catching it in her arms on reflex, she watched him smile and hold another one up for himself. He showed her how to rip open the top and she stuck a straw inside. Climbing the ladder to sit with her, he tried to keep from laughing as the taste hit her tongue. _

'_Bleck! They're sour! What are these?' she shuddered._

'_Hipiscus, do you feel any better now?' he asked, turning his eyes to the ground._

_She made a face, but took another sip. He set his fruit aside and jumped from the balcony onto the Escaflowne's shoulder. The sword was already unlatched and balanced on its left arm. Picking up the sword file left beside it, he took a deep breath before saying, 'If you go around with that nervous look on your face something bad is going to happen to you.' _

_She looked up surprised. His voice had a weird hitch in it. She watched his back as he knelt down and began filing the edge of the long blade. _

'_It's certainly not like you to be depressed, is it?' _

_She… didn't know what to say, so she played with the little straw. Holding the heavy fruit, she realized her stomach didn't hurt as bad. Had the fruit helped with that? No, she realized with a jolt. His words had. _

_He was trying to make her feel better. _

_His back facing her, she couldn't see the nervous way he bit his lip or the file that trembled ever so slightly in his hands. With a silent, but sharp breath, he said, 'Listen, I've got something I want to say.'_

'_Huh?' she tilted her head curiously. 'What is it?'_

'_I want you to stay with me.' He bit his lip harder, but forced the words out. 'Stay with me from now on, that is.'_

_The fruit dropped from her hands and it splat on the ground like an undignified punctuation to his confession. _

_The machine in Zaibach hissed steam, the dials swinging left and right. _

'_Destiny levels climbing smoothly.' _

'_Fate prediction at critical.'_

'_Chaos isn't holding!' one of the sorcerers cried. _

_Stratego stood at the dials. His mahogany eyes waiting. The Engine stopped once more and the old man snarled, 'I can't see… I can't see it! I can't see this crucial moment!'"_

"Oh, my god… did he just _confess_?" Nurse gasped.

"Keep going!" Van urged.

"_The king continued to file the blade, the words falling into the rhythm of his work. _

_Stay with me… stay with me… stay with me…stay with me from now on… they bounced in her mind. All she could do was sit and stare at his back. _

_Surely, he didn't mean… but he could have meant… did he really mean…?_

'_What do you mean?' she whispered finally. His breathing was becoming a little harsh. He clenched his right fist hard on the file and stood, his back still facing her._

'_I want… you to stay with me…' he repeated, his shoulders tense. Her mouth was open in surprise. _

'_I want you!' he suddenly shouted. The girl gasped her hand flying to her thundering heart. He… he wanted her? Did… did…_

_Did he really __**mean**__ that?_

_He was still struggling. 'I want…' he said again, but the words choked up in this throat. _

'_What is it?' she whispered, feeling her cheeks grow red. Her stomach was in knots, the sour juice of the fruit twisting in her nervous belly. He finally turned to face her, his expression a mixture of fear, panic, and determination. His long dark hair flicked into his eyes and his shoulders began to tremble. _

_And in the span of one quick breath he shouted, 'I WANT YOUR POWER!'_

_Her mouth fell further and her green eyes blinked rapidly. 'Uh, huh…' she responded, her shoulders sinking. _

_In Zaibach, Stratego turned his back to the dial as the chaos meter slowly flicked back to stabilize. _

'_Chaos is now falling!' the announcement was made. _

_He couldn't stop the smirk from falling on his lips. _

'_Let's go destroy Zaibach together!' the king continued, his panic subsiding in the wave of this declaration. He took several brave steps closer. 'To defeat them, I'm going to need your power. The power of Atlantis! With that, Escaflowne may be able to do even more incredible things! Please, I'll need your help!'_

_With each passing second, her surprise changed instantly to frustration. Her stomach uncurled to revel in the heat of her anger. A growl erupted from her throat and she crushed her straw. Standing swiftly to her feet, he gasped – the threat of danger flashing into his mind. _

_The birds roosting in the rafters flew off disturbed by the sound of a hard slap."_

Van burst out laughing.

"Oh, my god, that is awesome!"

"I thought you were for the king?" she asked confused by his reaction. "He just messed up!"

"I know! I know! But he struck out so bad that it couldn't be any worse! How do you know you screwed up? Even the whole damn _universe _tells you!"

"I feel bad for her. He had said before that he wanted her only for her power and she hated it. Now, on the verge of confessing to her, he switches gears and says it again. This is after she was having such problems over Princess and Knight. The king just made everything worse. She thinks that she doesn't have his respect as a person or his friendship – let alone his feelings. He just reminded her that she's a useful tool for the war."

Van was still laughing and she waited for another minute or two for him to collect himself.

"Alright, we'll never get through this chapter if you keep laughing."

"I'm good, I'm good. Go ahead, Nurse," he chuckled. "God, that was the _worst_…"

"_She sprinted out of the windmill doors, the skin on her right palm stinging slightly. She half expected him to chase after her – to apologize to her – but she stopped as she entered Palas' gate and glanced behind._

_There was no one. _

_Of course, he wouldn't come. It's not like he cared about her. He'd never cared about her at all! _

_Just her power…_

_Leaning on the edge of a small bridge, she looked down at her reflection over the clear blue water. _

'_What a jerk,' she scowled, throwing a loose rock into the water. _

_Back at the windmill, the birds settled back down. The king was back to filing; trying to ignore the pain stinging his cheek. _

'_Check completed! All systems green!'_

'_Fate destiny labels stabilizing!'_

'_That was close…' the old man sighed quietly. 'Stratego, what is the operation status?'_

_Bowing to the screen, the man said, 'Majesty, all preparations are complete.'_

_Meanwhile, back in Austuria, a blond man stepped into a lonely field looking out at the crystal blue sea. His hair tossed high in the air as his eyes swept the small cross stones that marked thousands of graves. Like little spirits, numerous white fluffy dandelions swayed lazily in the breeze. He had known his father was buried here, but he had never gone to visit. As a young rebellious man, he had been wild and naïve. He had never searched for the truth._

_Knight would have never known the truth… if it hadn't been for that girl…_

'_Father…' he whispered, looking down at the headstone. _

'_This is certainly unusual,' the eldest princess spoke up from behind him. Turning, he watched her typical stern expression change to kindness. She was holding pink daisies to her chest. 'You've never prayed a day in your life, and yet you're in a place like this.' _

_The wind rushed through and carried several dandelion seedlings with it. Hers was the last face he wanted to see right now, even if it wasn't hostile. Lowering his eyes, Knight walked by her. _

'_Let go of my sister… please,' the woman begged quietly as he passed her. 'It's been so long, but she's finally found the happiness she deserves.'_

_He stopped, swallowing thickly, 'I'm relieved to hear you say that,' he said. 'If you say so, then it must be true. Merchant's a very good man.'_

'_Oh?' she turned back, pushing the long strands of her hair out of her face. _

'_If this marriage were only a way to take the throne, then I would have killed him without question.' He continued walking and she watched his back solemnly. A petal from one of her flowers broke away and tossed to him as the wind changed. The pink petal rushed over his shoulder and flickered in front of his eyes. He caught it with quick fingers. 'My mother used to love these flowers,' he said out loud remembering. 'As I recall, these flowers mean 'one who cannot be forgotten'.' Turning back to the eldest princess, he saw her walking away._

_The pink flowers lay at his father's grave._

'_Thank you…' he breathed._

_Deep in the dark, however, the Emperor leaned forward in his metal suit. 'The Fate Alteration Engine is still not perfected, but I believe it will be able to influence-'_

'_An easily swayed human heart,' Stratego answered for him. _

'_What? A human heart?'_

'_Yes, majesty, we will insert the gravity of love into the girl from the Mystic Moon, redirecting the vector of her heart towards someone other than the dragon. And fortunate for us, I have obtained the samples needed from them." – The image of the three trapped in the cages. Long blond hair strands on the cage floor. – 'Am I correct in assuming that this DNA and the Fate Alteration Engine will be all the power that we'll need?'_

'_Hmm…' the old man grunted. _

'_But to do this,' Stratego turned to two identical cat women kneeling at his side. 'I will need one of you to be my partner.' _

'_Yes, Lord. We will do as you ask,' the silver gave a feral grin._

'_Ah, Naria, let's do this fair and square,' the gold held up a coin. 'Let's see whose luck is stronger. Ha!' she flicked the coin with a claw and it swung high in the air. _

_Outside, the once beautiful day was finally beaten by the gathering clouds; covering the setting sun in a heavy rain. Everywhere, Austurians packed up their shops and ran for cover. The girl stood under the cover of a small house. Her green eyes still flashing with anger and resentment. _

_The king emerged from the windmill, his eyes dark and his heart heavy. He watched the storm remembering how she'd sprint away from him. He wondered suddenly if she was stuck in the weather._

_As if to answer his question, a crackle of thunder boomed over her head and she squealed. 'Wow, what a downpour…' Glancing to her right, her cheeks blushed as she spied a couple ducking under a blanket together. They moved closer to share a more intimate moment and she looked way quickly. Leaping off the sheltering porch, she began to run down the street._

_Knight walked with no purpose, feeling the rain pelt his back and shoulders. Princess was going to be happy. He just had to believe it. _

'_T-minus thirty to activation of fate accelerator!' a voice called from the controls. Maneuvering the Engine, they readied the concentration of fate on two figures standing on an open walkway. _

'_Are you ready, Eriya?' Stratego asked. 'We will be Knight and the girl from the Mystic Moon.'_

'_Yes, my lord,' the golden cat hissed, almost breathless with excitement. 'Oh, I mean, Knight…'_

'_Very well… let us begin…' _

'_T-minus ten!' the sorcerer announced. Behind his back, the silver-haired woman flicked the coin with a bitter smirk. _

'_The stage is set, the cast assembled, now is the time to change the vector of her heart… Now. Alter the fate!'_

'_Altering fate!' A voice cried, turning a wheel._

'_Altering fate!' another one pushed levers forward._

'_Altering fate!' yet another twisted knobs, watching the dials speed up._

_The machine whirled, gears clinking to life. The concentration of fate shot a beam of light upon Stratego and Eriya, illuminating them completely. _

_Stratego lifted a hand to her and she mirrored his actions. They grasped hands. _

_Instantly, the Emperor's machine turned a shining blue. His old eye pressed hard into the telescope, he could see the machine's manipulation coming into play. 'It's turning… It's turning! The wheel of fortune is turning! And now it all begins!'_

_Their hands laced together and they took a step closer._

'_Now, focus your feelings…' Stratego whispered to her. The utter joy and delight sparkled in her eyes. _

'_Knight…' she said to him._

_Still walking in the rain, Knight stopped at the crossroads. Left brought him closer to the castle… but he felt a strange urge to turn right – into the market place. It was unusual. No shops would be open. Everyone would want to get out of the weather. And left held the Princess. His heart couldn't handle seeing her shining face. Her sister was right and she would be happy with Merchant. That meant Knight should just be happy for her, too._

_But he wasn't. _

_Right called to him like a temptress… _

_So, he turned right._

'_Fate particles accelerating!' the man called. Naria, her silver ears twitching forward, clasped her hands in front of her chest as she watched her golden sister and her lord take another step closer. _

_The girl had raced off like an idiot and now she was lost. Standing under a tree for protection, she shivered in annoyance. 'Where in the world am I? Oh, man, I can't see a thing out here! I have to get back soon.' Her words suddenly hit her. 'Back where?' she sighed. 'Back to whom? Do I even have some place to get back to?' _

_The thunder was terrible. It crashed over his head and sent a spike of unease down his spine. What if she hadn't gotten back? What if she was stuck in this weather and it was his entire fault? The king gritted his teeth and plunged out of the shelter of the windmill. 'I have to find her…' he panted to himself as his feet sloshed in the growing mud. 'I have to find her and make sure she's alright. I owe her that at least.' _

_She finally walked out of the tree, following back down the pathway she'd come – or maybe this was the other pathway? She was already soaked to the bone, so it didn't really matter anymore. She walked with her head down, following her instincts... _

'_What am I doing? When did I get used to life here? When did I start to like the people here? What am I doing here...?'_

_Unknowingly, she had walked into the city, passing through the empty market place. Her feet took her up the stairs over a Riviera. The girl stopped, her short hair falling into her stinging green eyes. 'When did it become hard to remember home? I miss you…' she admitted, seeing the boy who had served as her first love. Things had been so simpler back then. So normal._

_She longed for normal. _

_Brushing a hand over her eyes, she glanced up as a figure approached her. Her heart sped up several paces._

'_K-Knight…'"_

"Oh, shit…" Van cursed with his mahogany eyes wide.

"_The Engine hissed as the fate connected. _

'_Target value's been reached!' _

'_Come!' the old man taunted. 'Show me the power of fate that draws one to another!'_

_Tied by forced fate, the two looked at each other, each flicker of the eye spilling another painful emotion. Knight, his mind blurred by the vision of her young face, reached up to put his hand on her shoulder. She started, but didn't fight him as he gently pulled her to his chest to embrace her. Miles away, mirrored in the exact position, Stratego cradled the cat woman in his arms. _

'_Why is it…' Knight murmured. 'Why is it when I'm with you, my heart is at peace?'_

_She listened to his heart, the steady warm beat. It filled her with comfort. The terrible pain of the king's words washed away from her as she felt Knight breathe deeply. She did the same. His scent was so familiar…_

_He smelled like… _

_Home…_

_A flicker of Princess' cheerful face brushed in her mind and she gasped; pushing herself out of his arms. _

_The brilliant light of the Fate Engine faded._

'_Particle density is decreasing!' _

'_Free your mind of worldly thoughts, Eriya,' Stratego commanded, holding her violently trembling body tightly. She closed her eyes with a small whimper. 'Now, just think of me with all of your heart.' _

'_My l-lord, I don't think that I-'_

'_Yes, I know it hurts, but think of me. You can do it…' _

_She panted, but her amber eyes flicked back to his deep mahogany and instantly, the Engine's light shinned down on them once more._

'_Why?' Knight asked through the rain. _

'_I-I'm so sorry,' she said, not meeting his eye. 'It's just… it's just… it's just I know how Princess feels about you!' _

'_But all I see if you,' he whispered, those blue eyes radiating. 'Just you.'_

_Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest. Her stomach twisted back into the painful knot. _

'_What are you saying?' _

'_Fate accelerating particles have reached critical! Now uniting elements!' the sorcerer shouted and quickly pulled four levers. The Engine whirled loudly, billowing hiss and smoke on the embracing couple. Stratego never broke his gaze from Eriya's shining eyes. Holding her shoulders, Stratego tilted his head closer to Eyria's lips. _

_Once again, Knight's hand reached for her shoulder. He pulled her a step closer, his fingers latched onto her shirt. He bent his head slowly, tilting it to catch her lips. Her green eyes wide, she wanted to back away but she suddenly couldn't._

_And then she felt his hair brush her cheek – his soft lovely hair – and she didn't want to back away. She closed the few inches between them and- _

_Their lips connected."_

"I win," Nurse said the words with a quiet smile on her lips.

Van, holding his pillow tightly in his arms, growled and almost threw it at her.

"Keep going! Gloat later!"

"_The rain tumbled over their heads. Lighting crashed through the clouds. The Fate Alteration Engine was almost turquoise with shimmering power. 'Ma-Magnificent…' Scientist breathed. 'It has begun. The new destiny as begun!' His laughter filled the chamber. As if the heavens heard his triumph, the storm immediately began to clear and a sliver of sunlight breached through the darkened clouds. _

_It shinned on them, warming their bodies as they continued to kiss softly. _

_The king, still jogging tiredly, had searched the entire market – she was nowhere to be seen. He chided his ill feelings. She was probably safe back at the castle. Warming herself by the fire and rousing herself to yell at him when he saw her next. Passing under a deep archway, the king emerged with the sun shining in his dark eyes. Blinking and clearing his vision, he took only several steps further before he stumbled back. _

_Standing on a Rivera, he saw them together. Knight released her lips and she looked up at him with shimmering green eyes of love. _

_His heart… _

_The look in her eyes…_

_His heart hurt in his chest…_

_He wanted that look…_

_He couldn't make the pain stop…_

_That look held for only one person…_

_And it wasn't for him. _

_She loved Knight."_

Nurse closed the book softly. They both sat in silence for a moment.

"I kind of-"

"I guess this-"

They spoke together and were silenced once more.

"I kind of wish I hadn't won," she finally confessed, her hands brushing the book's cover.

"Regardless, you won fair and square. I guess this means I owe you a steak dinner."

"I also had asked about something else… but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…" she mumbled.

"Wait, what was the other thing?"

"The… the reason why you were attacked. The reason why you were brought here in the first place. Besides, no one has even requested to see you except for – oh, sorry!" she gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. "That was rude of me."

Van shrugged, but his face fell. "You're right. No one has come to see me except for that… _guy_…" his eyes grew a little dark. "Nurse, I'm not sure if it's safe to say anything."

"What isn't safe?"

"It's just better if I keep you in the dark about me."

"But Van, I want to help if I can! If there is something I can do, please-"

"There's nothing you can do!" he snapped and instantly regretted it. "God, I'm sorry, I know you are just trying to help."

"I also… don't want you to be alone. It's the reason I first came in here to read." Her lips changed into a sweet smile.

"Nurse…" he sighed, his resolve breaking. "Look, it's a long story."

"And I've got another…." She looked at her watch. "Forty-five minutes."

"This is dangerous. You may be putting your life at risk. Remember, I came in here with two bullets in my brain."

"I can handle myself," she said, her back straightening.

For several minutes, he stared hard at her innocent face. And finally, he let out a sharp exhaling breath that sounded more like a growl. "I guess I should start with I built my own company from the ground up during my first year out of High School. The market was growing for skilled hackers. I had the talent even as a child. I ran my small business from my college dorm room and eventually was able to expand once I graduated. But… good things never last. That's a lesson I've had to learn the hard way." He paused, leaning his head back on the headboard. He stared at the ceiling.

"What was the business you built?"

"It was a…. private investigation of sorts. Our focus was credit card fraudulence. Most of our cliental were technology companies and banks. Personally, not meaning to boast here, I can identify and trace accounts pretty easily with the software I have in stock. However, my agent over a sensitive case got careless. The people we were charged with investigating found us out. Next thing I knew, my agents were dead and everything was burned to the ground." His eyes flashed. "Too bad for them, I've been gathering the dirt all this time."

"Dirt?"

"Yeah, that's terminology for 'a shit load of proof for bad things done by people'."

"And they are still after you?"

"I've got the dirt stored away safe and I'm the last one in their way. Better to knock me out before I upload everything into the public database for everyone three countries over to read."

"The civil service will protect you," she said quickly. "You need to be under more protection than a simple bodyguard outside the door!"

"They have more problems to deal with than just me. Trust me, I've got the proof. And civil service won't help matters much. Actually it'd probably make it worse."

"But… but… what do you mean?"

Van leaned forward and put a steady hand on her shoulder. She didn't flinch away this time. Instead, she reached up and placed her fingers over his.

"I think the only safe place I have left is here. I want revenge for what they've done, but the sooner I get released, the sooner they'll catch me by surprise and end me for good. Like I said before, I've got the documents that could shut them down. It all started with a simple fraudulence charge that hooked on the radar. Before I got shot, I had the execution order for my agent's deaths; I had drug cartel schedules, arms-dealer names, government spies… the last thing I received was a written statement from their CEO signing off on my death."

"How did you get all of that!?" she asked surprised.

"I've tapped into their data files with a worm I created back in college." He said simply. "So far as I know, they have no idea I've bugged them. Everything they upload into their private system, I've got it all storing away. The worm reproduces, you see? Travels from file to file. It's traps the data right into my files."

"You need to turn this information in."

"And I will. My bug's been working this entire time I've been here. I haven't had any access to my computer systems." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Nurse, I have put you in danger telling you this."

"They are not listening now, are they?" Nurse whispered.

"No, but... you are my nurse and they are probably watching you. You have to be careful where you go, who you talk to, where you keep your secrets. This Allen guy… he sounds suspicious. I don't like him."

"You've never liked him," she commented dryly.

"And for good reason. The bastard stood you up again, right?"

She fell silent, unable to answer.

"You want to know why I like the king so much? He and I have a lot in common."

She blinked, surprised that the conversation had turned back to the book. His fingers twitched on her shoulder. Looking into his eyes was like looking at hard steel.

"My… my older brother turned on me just like his did… Folken… I know it was my brother that shot me that day. I'd know his shadow anywhere. He was the one who smothered me. He's the one who has been hounding me since the very beginning. I didn't know he was tied to them until it was too late. Until I stumbled upon the execution order assigned for him…"

"Your brother…?" she whispered.

"The king… I can understand his pain. I understand his feelings of failure and guilt and revenge. I want them to pay. I want them to _burn_. But I have to play by their rules for now. I have to stay here and stay alive. But there's no one I can trust now. Everyone's dead…"

She gently took his hand off her shoulder and held it in both her hands. "Van… you can trust me…"

His head lowered. "Ah, damn it."

"What is it?"

His fingers turned cold and clammy; shaking. The monitor on his blood pressure was rising. "Now… now you're involved. Damn it, damn it, damn it! There's no stopping this. You…" he looked up and his eyes were tight with panic. "Don't say anything. Don't speak of this conversation ever _again_. If you are ever asked about your patients here at the hospital, I am nothing, I am no one, I am just a no-named patient." He took his hand out of hers and turned to glare at the floor. "Damn it, I shouldn't have _told_ you. This was a mistake."

"Van…" she stood up slowly from her chair, placing the book on his bed.

"You'll be in danger now and it's all my fault."

"But Van-"

"You won't act normal because you'll be looking over your shoulder. They'll see it. They'll see that you know. They'll get rid of you as well. They'll get rid of you to get to me just like they did to everyone else. They'll come after you. I have to kill my brother before this happens. I have to save you at least."

"Kill your _brother_?"

"Maybe, I can get you faked documents and you can go into hiding before they catch wind of you! You'll have to quit your job – probably move to another country! That will throw them off your trail pretty quickly."

"I will not go into-"

"Damn it, why did I tell you?!"

"Please listen to me-"

His mahogany eyes sparked. "I'm in luck though! You are an excellent liar! You've got that going for you-"

"VAN!" she yelled, her hands clamped at her side. "Calm down, please! I'm not going anywhere!"

He blinked at her anger. "But you're in danger now-"

"You let me decide if I want to leave or not. You let me decide if I'm in danger." She tiled her head and her short hair brushed over her vibrant green eyes. "And since when have I been a good liar?"

"Don't play dumb. You're the best liar I've ever met. That's a good thing in this case."

"There is no case, Van. There's nothing that's going to harm me. Please, calm down. I'm sorry I asked, okay?" she sat back down, dismissively. "I know you have had a terrible thing happen to you, but just because I'm your nurse doesn't mean I'm a target. You are paranoid."

"They tried to kill me here, remember?" Van said quietly. "They tried to end me right in this ward. They almost did it too. You aren't safe anymore and it's my fault."

"You let me be the judge of that. Let's drop it for now." Grabbing the book, she asked, "Do you want to keep going? We might be able to finish another chapter."

Van opened his mouth, but no words came out. He closed it with a groan. "I don't feel like reading the book. Now is not the time for story-telling."

"Well, I want to read it," she scowled.

"Alright, if it will make you forget about what I said…"

"I said, 'drop it', Van."

"Fine_._"

"_The sun shimmered through the parting clouds creating a beautiful orange sunset in the sky. Their lips parted and the girl found she couldn't look Knight in the face. Finally gathering the courage, she saw his lips had fallen into a kind smile. She turned away from him embarrassed. _

'_I-I… Knight… I don't know…' she stammered. Her stomach dropped as his warm hands fell on her shoulders. _

_His breath tickled the back of her neck. 'Listen, I-'_

_They both stopped as they spied the king only a few feet away watching them with quiet eyes. Her heart beat faster in her chest. He had seem them! He had seem the two of them…ki-_

_As if he couldn't take it any longer, the king turned on a toe and ran the opposite way. 'No, wait!' she called at his retreating back. _

_Night had fallen by the time he reached the windmill. He stood quietly at the doorway, his heart and mind still not quite able to connect the scene he'd watched. His black hair hung long and low over his face. The room was dark and quiet. _

_A familiar voice erupted from the right. 'My lord! I knew you'd be here soon! I've been waiting for you! Oh, look at you! You're soaked!' Merle, her soft hands gentle, grabbed his arm and sat him down. Within minutes, she had a fire going and had taken off his drenched shirt. Her usual chatter was actually a comfort to his ears. She grabbed a towel she'd brought with her and scrubbed his messy hair. 'What were you doing out in the rain?'_

'_Walking,' he answered without emotion._

_She was quiet for a moment. 'You were going to see that girl, right? She's bad news, my lord. You gotta stay away from her. You'll get a cold because of this.'_

_Knight and the girl walked back together. His was a comfortable silence, hers was an awkward one. She was actually relieved once they reached her door. 'Um, I guess I'll see you later…'_

'_Okay, you mustn't catch a cold.' He instructed gently. 'You should turn in early. Tomorrow is Princess' wedding ceremony after all. Until tomorrow then?'_

'_Uh, yes,' she whispered and shut her door quickly. The girl leaned on the frame, listening to his footsteps slowly disappear. _

_She kissed him. _

_She kissed Knight. _

_He said that he only had eyes for her. He only cared about her. Not Princess. Not anyone else. Just her._

_And not just for her power…_

_The Fate Alteration Engine had worked perfectly – much to Stratego's predictions. _

_Her heart was swayed from the dragon. _

_But the heart of another burned with jealousy. A flash of dagger and the silver cat leapt into the air to land on a rail. The gold, panting through her mask, readied her hand for another charge. Her reflexes kicked in – underhanded throw!_

_She tossed her blade with quick fingers and they met in the air. Surprised, the silver gasped as her sister suddenly slipped from the shadows and she was charged into a wall. She lifted an elegant leg and slammed her knee into the gold's stomach. Twisting around, she pinned both her thighs to the ground and twisted her leg up. Her golden sister groaned and hit the ground with her hand; tapping out._

'_You almost had me there,' the silver sighed taking off her mask. 'You almost had me, Eriya.'_

'_Hmph, wait till next time.' Her sister scowled from the floor. Then her face suddenly turned haughty. 'But don't forget, my luck was much stronger in the last match…'_

_Naria swallowed down her snarl. _

'_Now we're even…' _

'_Damn it! Don't act so smug!' The silver cat hissed, coming up to her sister's prone body. Straddling on top of Eriya, she pressed her chest forward._

'_Yes, but I won, remember?'_

_The silver leaned even closer, their faces inches apart. 'Tell me about Lord Stratego's lips,' she whispered softly. 'Did they feel warm? Please, let me have a taste of them…'_

'_Stop it!' her sister growled. Naria paused for a moment and then collapsed completely on top with a defeated sigh._

'_Naria…'_

'_I want Lord Stratego's love…' she hissed._

_The gold laughed bitterly. 'Sister, there wasn't any.' _

'_What?' the silver cried sitting up._

'_If we hadn't kissed, I'd still have my dream… Lord Stratego may show us kindness, but I didn't feel any love.' Seeing her sister's defeated face, Naria curled up beside her. _

'_But we're happy, right?'_

'_Yes… Our lives should have ended then.' The memory of so long ago. They were just kittens. Chased for their prized fur, they fled to a ravine and leapt to their deaths. As they fell, white wings came forth and caught them. He let them go as soon as he landed on the ground. The gold, more aggressive, scampered forward and bit his arm. The silver just collapsed on his bended knee. 'Poor little things,' he'd whispered to them. 'Your luck has been a hard fate, but I will give you new names. Today, you will be reborn. From now on, you two will be blessed with better luck.'_

_The memory departed and the two sisters continued to lay on the cold steel floor together. 'Oh, sister, I thought we were supposed to be lucky.' The silver said bitterly._

'_And we still can't defeat the dragon.'_

'_It would seem at its current level, your luck is unable to overcome his power,' the voice of their lord echoed above their heads. _

'_Lord Stratego!' they both cried together, sitting up and crawling to him._

'_Naria, Eriya, if you wish, I have it in my power to grant you even more luck. An unparalleled luck. One that no one can take away from you.'_

_Back on the shores of Palas, the storm had all but disappeared from the sky. Instead of thunder, the hustle and bustle of servants cooking, cleaning, and decorating for the celebration resounded from the castle. _

'_Nope, nope, this isn't the one either,' Princess sighed into the spilled pieces of jewelry and valuables that littered her vanity and chest of drawers. 'That's strange. I could have sworn I had chosen the one that would go perfectly with it.' She turned to check another drawer and her blue eyes hit the white fabric of the dress. Her dress. She tried to swallow down her apprehension, but the mixed fears of panic and unease swirled terribly in her stomach. Suddenly, one of the rolling cabinets moved forward an inch. _

_She gasped, jumping backward as it moved again. With a sharp exhale, she stomped over and looked underneath – the mole thief's eyes were wide with shame. _

'_What are you doing down there?' she asked with a frown. _

_He crawled out without a touch of elegance and cleared his throat, 'Well… uh… how can I put this? You used to have a glow about you, Princess, but now it's gone…? I was wondering what was wrong.'_

'_Huh?' she frowned confused. He gave her a toothy smile and pulled a necklace out of his sleeve. Fixing it around her neck, she cupped the beautiful red jewel in her hands. 'Oh! This is it!' _

'_May I say that out of all your treasures there is only one that perfectly suits you, know what I mean?' he winked before strolling out the door with a little hum in his throat. _

_Meanwhile, back in the heart of Zaibach, bubbles frothed up a mysterious golden liquid. Kept in containing tubes, it gave the already ominous darkness an eerie golden glow. Connected with tubes and wires, both cats obediently waited as their bodies were injected with needles._

'_I will completely replace your body's blood with fortune blood.' Stratego said quietly._

'_Fortune blood?' one of the twins asked curiously. _

_Lying on two separate tables with eyes full of trust, the cat women watched as their object of love described: 'The Emperor's research selected people with strong luck and a high survivability factor from all over Zaibach. And from the nuclei of their cells, he extracted fortune DNA, which he then fused together using the Fate Alteration Engine. He created this artificial blood.' His face fell as he looked between each of them. 'But the risk is great. Any mistake and-'_

'_We'll be just fine,' Naria reassured with a confident fang slipping out of her lip. 'I know we will.'_

'_She's right, Lord Stratego, we're very lucky.' Her golden sister reaffirmed with the same look._

_He smiled at their bravery. Lifting his metal arm, he commanded, 'Intensify luck,' and the sorcerers followed his orders, pulling levers and checking switches. The entire room began to shrill with a pressured hiss and the white light drowned out the golden hue from before. A whirling machine filtered back and forth, back and forth, sucking up only small portions of their original blood and shooting in the genetically engineered fortune blood. Their veins swelled with the intensity, but they glowed gold as more and more of their blood was replaced." _

"Can I ask you something? It's a little random…" Nurse put down the book with a red tinge to her cheeks.

"I guess?" he quirked an eyebrow. "What's this about?"

"It's stupid, but…" she took a deep breath as if to steady herself. "Did you really mean it when you said you liked short hair?"

He blinked in surprise. Reaching to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly, he gave a quick nod. "Yeah, I do. I remember I couldn't see you when you asked before. Why? Is this something you're worried about? Did that Allen prick say something?"

"No, no, it's just that now that you can see me, I was wondering if it was true."

He snorted a laugh into his palm. "Nurse, do you want the honest truth?"

"Yes…"

"You are the prettiest thing I've ever seen," he said with complete honesty.

Her face lit up like a light bulb and she dropped the book.

It spilled to the ground awkwardly.

"I…I…" Her hand came up to smooth the back of her short hair and she blinked rapidly. "I am?"

"Yeah," he took his eyes from her red face, but a smile lifted on his lips. "I use to picture what you might look like. That day I finally laid eyes on your face, it was better than what I'd dreamt. Does that answer your question?"

"You… you think I'm pretty…" she repeated, her shoulders rising. Reaching down, she picked the book back up and flicked back to the page with nervous fingers. "I'm glad…" she whispered so softly, he almost didn't hear her.

A sliver of warm triumph made him straighten his back against his pillows.

Smooth as silk. Suck it, Allen.

"_Back in Austuria, the stage was set at the front door to the palace. A long red and gold carpet lined the walkway. On either side of the palace gate, Guymelefs parked in respect outlined the future procession. _

_In only a few more hours, the wedding would commence. _

'_Is this really what's right for Princess?' the girl mused to herself, her head resting on her arms. She watched as a foreman yelled at two servants for slacking below. Suddenly, a toss of long blond hair caught her eye and she saw Knight talking with two other soldiers. Her hand rose to touch her lips softly. He had kissed her. Her first kiss._

_Instantly, a rush of guilt twisted her stomach as the image of the king's sad eyes flickered into her mind. She felt angry. Why would she be feeling guilty about him? He didn't care about her! He only wanted her power, right? He didn't deserve to have an expression like that! And Knight, he… he… cared about her. He saw only her…_

_But the king's eyes… his eyes were so hurt…_

_Did… did he really care about her? More than her power?_

_She groaned into her arms and her face felt hot. _

'_Oh, there you are!' the twinkling sound of a voice came up from behind her. Straightening up in surprise, the girl gasped and turned on a toe. _

'_Ah! Hi, Princess!' she said with a mock-cheerfulness. Her smile faded as she saw the Princess' beautiful face had a troubled look. _

'_I have a favor to ask you. I-I would like a reading done.'_

'_Why now?' _

'_I just don't know anymore. I don't know if I can live with Merchant.'_

'_Well, this isn't a quick elopement or anything.' _

'_Elopement? What do you mean?'_

'_You just have wedding jitters and anyway, I can't tell fortunes anymore.'_

_Princess walked forward and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. 'Please! If you tell me my fortune, I think it'll help!'_

'_But what if I call up some strange future again?'"_

"Oh, yeah, that's a thing, isn't it?" Van injected. "I forgot she can do that."

"'_Whatever the cards say, I'll believe them.' She said desperately. 'Oh, please, do this for me!' _

_She caved._

_Following Princess into her study, they sat at opposite ends of a table and the girl took a deep breath. She laid the cards out and closed her eyes before studying. _

_Three of serpents… hanged man… moon… tension, self-sacrifice, uncertainty... She's worried about this political marriage alright. She wants to be free of pressure. Her green eyes looked upward to see the barely concealed apprehension behind the Princess' blue eyes. _

'_Oh, uhh, let's see…' she stammered. 'Um, you're worried! You're worried about the marriage because it's so sudden, but you can't be impetuous.' It was a gentle truth, but still not quite correct. The girl ignored the hard beating of her heart and pushed herself to keep going._

_Ace of birds… five of fish… devil… five of beasts… if she gets married now, she'll know deep sadness and will be involved in a feud because of someone near to her. _

_She had fallen silent, unable to say the words out loud. _

'_Are you okay?' Princess asked quietly. _

'_Ahem, there may be many small difficulties in your married life, but… uh…' she drew a card and her hand trembled. The lovers!? A flicker of Knight and Princess together – their faces joyous and bright. The cards slipped from her hand as she watched them together. _

_Happiness. Happiness with Knight!_

'_What is it? What's wrong?' The blond woman asked._

_Her happiness was with Knight!_

_The girl shook her head to clear the image. All but one of the cards had spilled from her hand: The tower… she looked at it, knowing what was going to happen. This marriage was wrong. Disaster, destruction, death! But if she told Princess these results, she was sure to cancel the wedding. Her rival for Knight's love would be back in full force. _

_No, she would lose him to Princess. They were destined. _

_She looked down at the tower and her eyes brushed past to see the emperor sitting on his golden throne: the sign of good fortune… if she could draw that card maybe she could reshape the future. She picked up the emperor steadily and her pendant hovered over both cards. Good fortune, misfortune. Good fortune, misfortune… If she used the power of her wishes, she could call up a better result! She felt her guilt rise as the Princess sat patiently waiting. But she could do it! She had to do it! For herself and for Knight. For her future happiness! _

_Without further hesitation, she placed the emperor in front of the tower and gave Princess a large smile. 'Don't worry!' she said cheerfully. 'This card indicates good fortune.' Laying down the emperor, the blond woman's blue eyes ran over the card curiously. 'In other words, marrying Merchant will make you very, very happy. It's what the cards say.'_

'_So… I'll be happy.' She repeated quietly. 'Happy with Merchant.'"_

"What in the world is she _doing?_" Nurse demanded, looking up at Van with frustration. "She knows she only screws things up whenever she uses her powers like that!"

"Makes me curious on how the wedding's going to turn out," Van leaned back amused. His face fell slightly, "But you know, if I had that power, I'd probably use it like that, too. I would use it to get what I want."

"I could never do that! Lie to her face! That's so wrong! So cruel!"

"Nurse, do you remember when I said that you are a good liar?" Van chimed with a smirk. "I know firsthand that you twist things when you want. Thanks to coma time, your voice was the only thing I heard for hours."

"But Van, I'm not like that! I don't have powers or-"

"Thanks to reading out loud, you have a great way with inflection. You could trick almost anyone I'm sure. Quite the little power you possess… your face, on the other hand, is an open book!"

"Oh, shut up," she scowled. "You make me sound like a horrible person!"

"Is the girl a horrible person for using her powers to get what she wants? Like we've talked about before, it all boils down to human nature. I have always believed people are naturally evil and, in a sense, people are. But, unfortunately for me, I had to meet someone like _you_."

"Someone like me?" she repeated with a startled blink.

"Oh, well, you know, you're kind," he cleared his throat. "You always try to see the positive instead of negative. It's… refreshing."

"Refreshing…" she said quietly to herself as if the word gave her some comfort. She lifted the book and he took that as a sign that the conversation was over.

He sighed with relief.

"_Pink flowers drifted lazily in the azure pools. Decorative banners, drips of lace and satin. It was a fairy-land wedding. From all over Palas, vendor and peasant alike crowded the streets and Rivieras to catch a glimpse of their beautiful princess and her soon-to-be husband. Their golden edged boat floated in the beautifully calm waters following a line of elaborately decorative ships._

_He stood waving at the adoration of his new people. _

_Her face was calm, set. Her eyes downcast to her lap. _

_From the outskirts of the city, the king sat on the roof of the windmill, his tan face solemn. He knew what this meant to Austuria. He knew how political marriages worked. That didn't mean he wanted to be in the middle of it all. No, it was better to keep his distance. _

_Keep his distance from everyone._

_They left the boat and sabers were drawn. Walking together under the blades, Princess never let her eyes leave the red carpet – even as she passed Knight standing with his Soldiers of Caeli. _

_The girl sat with Knight's ship crew, a silent prayer repeating over and over in her head. In her hand, she clutched the emperor. Good fortune, good fortune. Oh, Princess, I want you to have all the luck in the world._

'_Waddya have there?' One of the crew leaned over her shoulder, his eyes on the card. _

'_Well, it's kind of like a charm?' she said awkwardly._

_Gadeth glanced over as well. 'A charm?' he said with a frown. _

'_To wish Princess and Merchant great happiness.'_

_All eyes turned down to the couple, who were kneeling before the priest. He pointed his scepter down between their heads. 'Ye wise children of Austuria, a land blessed with wind and water and embraced by both the sun and moon. This day stands witness to a blessed event – this new age.'_

_Unknowingly, the blessed day and the hands of fate were already turning against them. A floating fortress, the stealth cloak activated, quickly disappeared into the clear afternoon sky. _

'_The probability graph is stable due to the separation of the girl and the dragon,' the Emperor said through the snowy viewing screen. 'This is the perfect opportunity to capture the girl from the Mystic Moon. She is the key to the alteration of fate!'_

'_But what if there is further influence from the dragon?' Stratego asked._

'_There had better not be… should that happen, eliminate the dragon!' _

_The globe blacked out, but Stratego's eyes continued to stare. _

_Eliminate the dragon… Eliminate…_

'_There's nothing to worry about, Lord Stratego,' one the twins piped up behind his back. 'Our luck has now become invincible.'_

'_We will surely capture that girl, dear Lord Stratego.'_

_As if hearing their declaration, the king jumped in surprise as the control chamber of the Escaflowne hissed open. Meanwhile, the girl's vision turned red. She saw Princess and Merchant kiss, but the world around them began to fall apart. Crumbled buildings, pools of blood… the fortune… the fortune she'd wished… She saw a tower struck by lightning. _

'_It's just like it said… it's just like my first reading said…' she whispered in a panic. Hearing a cheering crowd woke her and she saw that the couple had stood from the priest's blessing. Merchant was smiling, holding Princess' hand delicately. He slipped on a ring._

'_This outta reign in that tomboy princess some,' a man joked behind her head._

_Another flash of red. The kiss. The crumbling city. The pools of blood. The tower._

_Her hands shook and she almost crushed the emperor in her fingers. 'No. No, they can't. This marriage is all wrong!' She hit two of the crew members as she pushed her way violently out of the crowd. _

'_H-Hey, wait!' Gadeth called after her, but she had disappeared._

_Meanwhile, the king watched with Merle as the pink jewel from Escaflowne shined a beam of light through the rooftop. 'What the hell…?' he cried as the light struck something solid. And then he saw it slowly appear into view. _

_A Zaibach floating fortress. And not only that, but – _

'_Brother…' he snarled._

_From inside their Guymelefs, the twins hissed together._

'_They spotted us…'_

'_The dragon showed its location all by itself. Our luck is operating on a whole new level alright.' The silver grinned. _

_She crawled from the seats and dropped ungracefully to the ground. Running down the red carpet, her heart was thundering out of her chest. 'Wait!' she shrieked. Everyone was in shock, no one thought to stop her._

'_What are you-?' Knight said as she passed him by. _

'_No, no, no, no!' she cried. Their lips drew closer just as her foot snagged on the carpet. She fell undignified to the ground, her hand reaching out. 'Stop, don't kiss!' _

_She looked up._

_It was done. _

_In their eyes, a flicker of hope glimmered between them. Straightening up, she gasped as the world around her suddenly went dark. Something was moving… something was moving to block out the sun!_

'_What's that?' Princess whispered fearfully. _

'_Looks like an eclipse, but why now?' _

'_It's an ill omen,' one of the priests cried. _

_At his words, a silver Guymelef swooped down from the clouds and hovered over the area. _

'_What's going on?' _

'_It's an enemy attack!'_

'_Zaibach,' Knight hissed angrily, pulling his sword out of his sheath. _

_Merchant picked up Princess, her skirts too heavy for her to run as King Aston held his daughters close. 'Zaibach attacking… but why…?'_

'_Get ready!' They settled their armor piercing arrows towards the floating silver Guymelef. Stratego watched from the floating fortress as the luck increased within the twins. Ropes ripped, quivers of arrows broke open, and men scrambled to reassemble as another crossbow fell over onto an Austurian Guymelef. It crunched the helm and jewel, crumbling to pieces. Knight turned to jump on his Grey Guymelef, only for the control chamber to refuse to open._

'_A malfunction, no, no! Not now!' he screamed in frustration. _

_Another wave of fortune and lightning struck the castle bell tower. Large piles of stone came falling down on the heads of the priests and the newlyweds. 'Lookout!' Merchant shouted, covering Princess with his body. A rock smashed into his head, spilling blood down his cheek. _

_The golden veins prominent in her cheeks and neck, the silver giggled to herself as she watched the destruction. _

_The king came charging forth, piloting the Escaflowne in dragon form. 'The castle…' he gasped, seeing the destruction. A whistle of jets sounded behind him and the shadow of the golden Guymelef came forward. 'Argh, it's you two again!'_

'_I can't let you get near her…' the gold hissed, her veins branching in her cheeks. Switching her weaponry, she fired streams of cremma claw liquid. He barely dodged in time. The Escaflowne ejected the sword and he came racing to the offense. Catching up to her easily, he landed on her back, but the sword wouldn't touch the metal of her Guymelef. _

'_What the-"_

'_Ha!' she laughed, twisting out from underneath him. 'Witness the power of luck intensification!' _

_Suddenly, the pink light flickered off and the dragon fell lifeless in the air. It began to plummet back to the ground. He struggled with the controls, unable to breathe from the pressure of his fall. He leveled out; barely taking off the tops of the cottages below._

'_Is he alright!' the girl cried, racing towards the limping couple, several scratches and bruises on her arms and legs._

'_Please, take his other arm!' Princess instructed panting. Together, they took shelter under one of the canopies. Princess ripped the sleeve of her dress and began administering aid to her new husband. _

'_Is this pathetic or what?' he wheezed. _

'_This pressure bandage should hold for now.'_

_A scraping noise resounded beside them and the girl turned to see Escaflowne landing with a crash. It began tossing itself in the air, the king barely holding on to anything at all. Open to attack, the gold and silver landed at his front and rear, standing before him like statues of war. _

_The pink jewel flickered only once more and then died. The king was tossed off, landing in a heap on the ground. _

'_Oh, no!' The girl shouted, standing up to run to him._

'_Attention, people of Austuria,' a voice cried out from the dark sky stopping her. 'We are the Zaibach intensified luck soldiers. I repeat: Attention people of Austuria, we are the Zaibach intensified luck soldiers. Resistance is…'_

'_Intensified luck…?' Her stomach dropped. Reaching into her skirt pocket, she looked at the emperor sitting on this throne of good fortune. 'Oh, God, don't tell me this card… because I used this card to… I switched one destiny for another!' _

'_We have but one demand:' the man continued over the loud-speaker. 'The girl from the Mystic Moon.'_

'_What!?' the king started, his fingers tightening on his pommel. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he gritted his teeth. _

'_If you wish to avoid further misfortune, hand the girl over at once.'_

'_They're crazy!' Princess cried, holding the bandage down on Merchant's stomach. 'No,' he grunted. 'Don't listen to them! Stay here!' _

'_Be careful!' she put her arms around him to steady himself. _

'_I understand…' she clenched her fists. Turning to the couple, she kept her eyes on Princess'. 'It was because I told you a false fortune.'_

'_W-what?' she gasped._

'_The cards really told me that your wedding was going to be a big mistake! Bu-But I thought I could change it. I… I thought I could will it to change! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I did it!' her large green eyes filled with tears and she buried her face in her hands. 'I thought that this would work out! It's all my fault!'_

'_W-What are you saying?' Princess asked tensely. _

'_Princess...' she said through her fingers. 'The right man for you is Knight. I'm sorry, but it's true. I love him and I didn't want to lose him! I'm so sorry and I know it was the wrong thing to do. I changed the results. I changed one destiny for another! This is my entire fault!' Lowering her hands, she wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked back towards the collapsed Escaflowne. She took a step forward, crawling over a fallen pillar._

_Princess and Merchant remained quiet, their disbelief freezing them from talking. But then the girl took off towards the square and Princess realized. Merchant collapsed back in her arms. _

_There was nothing she could do, but watch the girl bravely run towards her doom._

_Each push of her legs, each step she took, she felt lighter. She felt relief. This was right. Fixing this. Solving this horrible future. It was her fault and no one would pay the price, but her. _

_This was what she deserved. _

_Skidding to a stop on loose stones, she spread her arms wide before the two Zaibach Guymelefs. _

'_I'm the girl from the Mystic Moon!' she shouted. 'You want me! Here I am!'"_

Nurse closed the book and Van blinked.

"That's _it?_" he asked in exasperation. "That's the end of the chapter?"

"That's all I got." She nodded standing up. "And I've actually got to be headed back. I'm late."

"You'll be here tomorrow night, right?"

Stopping at the foot of his bed, she smiled beautifully. "Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world."

He clenched his fingers on his quilt to steady himself. "Hey, Nurse, could you stop by? Even if it's not to read? Could you stop in here whenever you get in to the ward? Just… pop in first thing?"

"Still worried that I'm going to be killed?" she rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"No, I just want to make sure you don't call dickhead back."

She left with a laugh.

Allen: 2

Van: 2

* * *

"_Hitomi? Are you there? Please pick up! I am so sorry I wasn't able to show. I boasted before about my free work hours, but I got called out on a job and my phone broke before I could call you – I guess I don't need to tell you that I go through phones pretty much every month. Please, if you get this message, give me a call back_._ I want to see you again._"

She pressed END and tossed the phone onto the vanity.

Dickhead, dickhead, dickhead. That was the name that they had laughed about. But without Van here, it didn't seem so funny anymore. Without Van here, she was actually tempted to call Allen. It wasn't that she wanted another date or anything.

It was mostly to sedate her curiosity.

Her need to know more.

Scratching the side of her neck, her green eyes lowered to Merle the kitten. Picking up the plush, she remembered the way the blond man had expertly held the gun, firing darts into the target like a pro.

Could he really be part of this company Van was talking about?

Was he really only with her to get close to Van?

She found it a little hard to believe. She'd met Allen at a New Year's Eve party, right? She'd been assigned as Van's care-taker for only a few days before. There was no way they'd already have had that information, right?

She groaned, burying her face into the plushy. She was being just as paranoid as Van.

After a few seconds, her green eyes pricked back on the innocent phone.

She'd promised Van she wouldn't call him.

But he also said she was a good liar, right?

* * *

The silver woman was dead. She had been on a mission with the new guy. She'd gotten killed.

The bossman didn't even blink an eye.

Her golden sister, tear-stained, walked around the company like a shell of a person.

This wasn't right.

This wasn't right.

He wrenched the drawer open and grabbed the gun. His fingers shook as he placed the barrel to his temple and held the trigger.

The same trigger he'd used on Van.

He couldn't do this anymore.

But… this wasn't the way he should go.

Lowering the gun to his desk, he sat down.

Morality… he had morals… she'd said that's why she liked him.

Folken's eyes flicked to the gun.

He had morals and he had a gun.

He didn't want to be here anymore. He was alone. The silver woman was gone.

He had morals.

And he had a gun.

* * *

He wanted to meet.

He was so apologetic, she got annoyed.

"Allen," she asked, poking Merle in the face with her finger. "I want to know why you stood me up. What was so important that you had to abandon me without a word?"

"I told you, it was something at work. I promise I'll make it up to you, Hitomi. I promise! Don't use the word 'abandon'. It was just a work-related interruption."

"You seem perfectly fine to interrupt me while I'm at work," she said, her voice clipped with irritation. "I don't appreciate being stood up all the time. What is it you _do_ anyway, Allen? I thought you said you could pick and choose your hours."

"I can most of the time, but this was urgent."

She exhaled in exasperation. "Still refusing to tell me, huh? What kind of relationship is this if I can't even trust you'll be there for me? You spoke sweet words about how you want to be with me. You can understand why I don't feel secure with you."

He was quiet and then she heard a light sigh. "I promise, sweet Hitomi, I promise I'll tell you everything. I'll tell you everything you want to know. Just please, meet me sometime soon."

"Allen…" her teeth gritted.

"Please, we can have dinner when you're not working a night shift. Please, Hitomi, please."

She was getting sick of the word 'please'. She was tempted to respond with a snarky comment, but stopped herself just in time. She was turning into Van.

_Van…_

"I have Friday off," she said reluctantly. "You are going to tell me everything, right?"

"You can bet my life on it! Thank you, sweet Hitomi, you won't regret it!"

She ended the call and the horrible guilt hit her.

She already regretted it.

Her green eyes danced over the mirror. "I'm doing this for him." She told herself quietly. "I'm doing this to help Van. If I can figure out if Allen is part of the company then Van will be able to use that to his advantage. And I'll know for certain that I never meant anything to Allen at all. This is as much for him as it is for me. I can't let Van do this on his own. Not when I can help in some small way. I have to lie to him tomorrow when I see him. I'm a good liar, right?"

Hitomi felt her heart clench. His face brushed over her mind, those intense eyes, that lopsided smile. She cared about him. His long dark hair tossed over his neck as he laughed with her.

She had faith in him, but she couldn't let him do this alone. She trusted him, but she didn't want to lose him. She almost had once.

Not again.

Not ever again.

And that's when it hit her. The realization igniting like wicked, yet beautiful flame.

She loved him.

* * *

Walking without water… not as easy as he thought it would be…

Van sported three bruises the size of grapefruits. His legs had buckled under him almost five times. The attendant, excused for the rest of the day after only an hour, left sporting a bloody nose from his face from hitting the metal pole.

But his arm strength was returning. He specially requested two pound weights from Millerna that afternoon and, when Nurse showed up that evening, he was still working out his arms.

Her green eyes lit up in delight.

"Look at you!" she gestured as he set the weights down at the side of his bed. "I don't think I need to ask how rehabilitation going!"

"Hello, Nurse. Actually, walking is still a bit of an issue." He admitted. "But that neurologist guy, Dryden's, pretty happy with it. He makes up a new chant every day." His eyes noticed her tense face and saw her lips were pressed in a straight line.

"Did you call Allen?"

"Of course, not. Why?" she asked curiously. He listened for the lie.

There wasn't one.

"Just checking," he smiled.

Coming over, she sat in the chair and opened the book. "Let's keep going then!"

"_The girl stood resolute as the two Zaibach Guymelefs turned to look at her. _

'_Oh, really? So this girl's the one?' the gold smirked._

'_Eriya, what do you say we head back?' _

'_Sounds good to me!' she released a latch with a quick fingernail and the cremma claw came streaming forth. It wrapped tightly around the girl's body, yanking her upward. Held tightly in the gold's grasp, she waited her fate with determined eyes._

'_I'll save you!' the king's voice roared from behind her. She turned her head to see him limping slightly with his sword raised in a charge. 'Hold on! I'm coming!'_

'_Stay back! Don't get hurt!' she cried as he rushed in. The silver slammed her claw down as if to squash a bug – and he dodged it, jumping onto the gold's knee with all his might. He leapt high and she reached for him. Their hands growing closer; their fingers outstretched for each other. _

_The Fate Alteration Engine spiked with a white light through the old man's telescope and quickly began glowing a vicious pink. The Emperor growled with rage. _

'_What happened!?' Stratego barked as the Fortune machine sputtered and died. _

'_There's something wrong with the luck intensifier!' _

_The king's hand was only a yard away from hers before the gold's cremma claw swung forward to smack him away. _

'_No!' the girl screamed, her hand still reaching for him. He caught himself and quickly rolled back to his feet. _

'_Eriya, you've got to grab him!' her silver sister commanded._

'_What a good idea. It'll make Lord Stratego very happy!'_

_Suddenly, the fortress moved and the sun began to slowly shine. The Fortune had broken. The twins let out a hissing pant as their veins began to glow from gold to blue to a sickly green. They froze, pain rocking their entire body. Both collapsed on their knees, the agony almost unbearable. Eriya let the girl go with a twitching flick of the switch. She screamed, king jumping in to save her, but a blond man got there before him. _

_Knight caught her in his arms. _

'_H-Help me, sister…' Eriya wheezed. 'I-I can't seem to breathe…'_

'_Why-why is this happening?' _

_Outside, the Guymelefs trembled with their pilots. _

'_Naria! Eriya! That's enough! Withdrawal!' The voice of their beloved came from the communicator. _

'_Lord Stratego… We have failed you…' the silver twin whimpered. Both tossed their Guymelefs into flight mode, but the energist jewel on the silver began to radiate. An over-fueled jet blew on her wing._

'_No!' the gold coughed, watching her sister begin to fall._

'_Just keep going!' she screamed. 'One of us has to return to Lord Stratego! One of us has to stay alive!' _

_And as the energy compacted into the second jet, the Guymelef exploded. _

_It was falling into late evening and yet the fires were still raging. Everywhere, any able body helped to dig bodies out of collapsed cottages, to bandage the bleeding, carry the wounded to safe houses. The city was ravaged, but already preparations to rebuild were underway. The castle, though the courtyards had taken the most damage, began to serve as a hospital for those that attended the wedding in the stands. Everywhere was the smells and sounds of pain and blood. _

_The girl stood alone, her green eyes taking in all that was destroyed. _

'_It's all my fault…' she held the pendant in her trembling hand. _

'_No, it's not,' Merchant's soothing tenor came from her right. 'They would have attacked even if we had followed your prediction and decided to call off our wedding. Even though I-uh- don't believe in fortune-telling…' Princess, standing at his side, elbowed him gently with a smile._

'_It's still my fault…'_

_Princess stepped forward this time. 'It was because I asked you to read my fortune, wasn't it? It's because I couldn't make up my mind that I put this pressure on you. I knew your feelings for Knight and yet I still asked you to do the impossible. I already knew you were struggling with this power and how dangerous it is. I made this happen and I am so sorry.' The princess' mature face almost made the girl cry. 'Will you ever be able to forgive me?'_

_The girl closed in the space and gave her friend a tight hug. _

_Unknown to them, crawling from the streams that intertwined innocently within their city, a silver-haired cat spewed water out of her crushed lungs. Looking into the sunset with wavering vision, she whispered, 'Guess I was lucky after all…' _

_At the floating fortress, Stratego looked down at his subordinate with cold, dead eyes. She let out another pitiful mew, curling on her side in agony. The memory of the Emperor's rage rang hot in his ears. _

'_Why did you do it?' the Emperor had snarled. 'Why did you order them to withdrawal!? Why did you disobey me!?'_

'_I'm sorry, Majesty, but had they remained their lives would have been in jeopardy.'_

'_What must be must be. It is for our ideal future!'_

_Looking down at her writhing body, the words spilled through his mind. _

_Ideal future… _

_What must be must be… _

_Too much good fortune… _

_An equal and opposite reaction… _

_Her amber eyes opened and she smiled weakly. 'Oh, Lord Stratego…'_

'_I'm sorry, Eriya,' he said solemnly. 'I'm sorry…'_

'_I don't mind.'_

_He swallowed, but kept his eyes on hers. 'I'm worried about your sister. What happened to Naria?'_

'_It's alright. Naria is safe. Don't worry. She can take care of herself.' Her eyes closed and he took a slow breath. Outside, the windows had grown dark and cold. _

_The same ominous night had befallen the castle at Palas as well. Slinking in and out of the shadows, Naria attacked like an assassin – coming in for a quick kill and advancing further and further. Her determination kept her going, but her blood kept sending random shockwaves of agony throughout her entire body. The luck… the fortune blood… it was eating her from the inside out… Jumping down from a balcony, she ungracefully toppled to her knees with a low moan. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think._

_It was pain… pain everywhere…_

_But the pain subsided, it always did, and she was left panting and sweating. And then the determination. _

_The determination for Lord Stratego._

_Her target, the girl from the Mystic Moon, was currently playing assistant nurse to those with minor injuries. With Merle at her back, she clipped a bandage and turned to give the water jug to her patient._

_Meanwhile, above them in Merchant's study, Knight and the king sat quietly together. Finally, Knight spoke up, 'Well, it would seem like they know about her abilities. They'll probably be attack again. But they are protected by luck, if that's what you want to call it.' His blue eyes turned to glare out the window. 'Whatever it is, I couldn't even get close to them.'_

'_There's a way,' the king said, his voice low and dark. 'We kill the man who's pulling the strings of the intensified luck soldiers. The man who betrayed Fanelia. The man who serves Scientist.'_

'_Who?' Knight asked quietly."_

"Does he really _not_ know?" Van snorted.

"'_Stratego… my brother…' _

'_B-Brother?' Knight was stunned._

'_That's correct. He's a killer. He is the mastermind behind it all.'"_

"I don't see why they didn't go after Stratego before now. He's obviously the one planning everything. They should have shot down his floating fortress a long time ago. He's the one who betrayed the king and almost got him killed several times. He's been hunting them down. He's the one who did all of this. It's his entire fault. He deserves to die."

Nurse looked up and her eyes softened. "Would you say that about your own brother…? _Kill_ your brother?"

Van's mouth opened, but no words came out. A brief silence fell between them until:

"Nurse, my brother is the reason why I am here. He tried to kill me. Twice."

"If you want him dead, how does that make you any better?" she asked delicately. "You want to get well to get revenge, I understand that, but to plan a murder…" she closed her eyes as if it pained her to think about it. "I don't want that… I don't want that for you. Believe me, if there is any amount of _your_ blood that runs through his veins, he'll do the right thing." He watched her cheeks blush and she played with the edge of the pages shyly with her right fingertips.

Now Van's mouth really fell open.

"He'll realize what he's done. I bet he's tearing himself apart just thinking about it. He'll realize who he is right now is wrong. If he is anything like you, he'll change."

"Your faith is blind," Van swallowed, his voice a bit harder than he meant for it to be.

"My faith is in _you_," she said softly. "And because I know you, it extends to him. I believe in him because you are such a good person. No one related to you can truly be evil."

"You're not in the _trusting_ stage with him, right?" Van joked darkly.

Ignoring his comment, she bent her head and sighed.

And then kept reading.

"_She walked carefully, balancing a heavy blanket, tea saucers, and a kettle of water in her arms. The stone hallway was dark, servants too busy with wounded to light the sconces lining the walls. No matter, she knew where she was going. She placed one foot on the staircase and her left laces ripped on her shoes. With a tumbling crash, her balanced bundle came shattering over the steps. _

'_Oh, no, my shoe lace broke,' she groaned, her green eyes glaring at the innocent shoe lying on the heaping pile. Jumping over the broken glass with her socked foot in the air, she grabbed the shoe and held it up._

'_Ah, great, what am I going to do now?' Her head suddenly perked as she heard something behind her._

_Turning around she gasped. _

_And her shoe fell to the ground._

_Strolling down the steps with a little hum, Merle reached the bottom and noticed the scattered mess on the ground. 'Geez, what's all this?' she meowed curiously, her fingernail picking through the mess. Her eyes landed on the shoe._

'_Hey, isn't this that girl's shoe?' she frowned. 'It is…but where did she go?'_

_The word soon spread. Rooms and closets were searched. Every courtyard and corridor. It was fruitless. _

_She was gone._

_Men ran to their posts, Knight ordered his crew to search the market, and the king turned to Merle with a quick pat on her pink head. 'You stay here. I'll use Escaflowne and find her.'_

'_Yes, but my lord-' she wailed, but he was already out of earshot, racing through the streets._

_Knight watched Gadeth leave around a corner and his head dropped into his hands. His blond hair tossed over his trembling fingers. His little sister's sweet features washed over his mind; her small form running away through the field. It swirled into a vision of his mother lying on her death bed. He was all alone then. All alone. _

_And now she was gone. How could he go on if he lost someone else he loved?_

'_Why does everyone important to me have to…?' he couldn't finish the broken sentence. _

_Meanwhile, the athletic cat jumped from rooftop to rooftop, her claws digging slightly into the girl's side. She bit back her screams, feeling the rush of the wind on her face. _

'_Don't even try to resist!' the woman hissed and then let out a strangling cough. The girl stayed still, but her eyes grew concern. The silver twin slipped into the shadows and hid behind a cottage, her amber eyes watching the men walking back and forth from their ships. The girl's eyes widened. The dock! She was going to be smuggled on a boat!_

_Waiting till the time was right, the men went for their dinners and she pushed the girl into a covered gondola. Her claws outstretched, she grabbed the girl once more and they waited for the men to come back. Maneuvering behind large boxes, the girl made small noises of fear, but stopped as she felt a prick of something sharp at her neck. _

'_You will remain quiet, understand?' the cat growled. Another cough hit her and she grabbed her throat. The girl's vision was washed with scenes of fire. Dead bodies of the Neko-People, their clans protecting the forest…. _

_And they escaped the fire. The two twins. The only ones left. _

_Mother and father were dead._

_They were found only hours later by the hunters. Their coats, silver and gold, were declared worth a fortune. Together, they leapt to their deaths, only to be saved by an angel. The girl knew his face well._

_Stratego. The king's brother._

_The image flashed to their adult faces smiling trustingly as they lay on the table. Their blood slowly drained from their bodies as they were granted new luck with Fortune's blood. _

_And their doom… with an equal and opposite reaction…_

'_So, that's…' the girl's voice was muffled. _

'_What?' she hissed._

'_So, that's what happened…'_

_The boat drifted slowly through the streams. It was a few hours before dawn by the time the man pulled the boat to shore and the cat woman slinked out from behind the boxes. She slit his throat painlessly with her pointer finger and dumped his body into the river. The girl let out a sharp scream._

'_Scream all you want, brat! No one will hear you!' She snarled before grabbing her throat again. The girl glanced around in horror. The city, Palas, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, an endless forest washed over her eyes. _

_They walked barely a mile in the black forest, the cat dragging the girl by the arm, before they spied a small carriage parked outside a dark cottage. It was already suit up with two horses as if ready to go to market._

'_Such luck,' the cat cooed quietly. She shoved the girl on, jumped beside her, and slammed the reins on the horses back. They leapt into action with a sharp whinny. _

'_Why are you doing this?' the girl shouted over the thundering horse hoofs. 'For Stratego? Because he saved you?' the cat snarled, but the girl continued desperately. 'Don't you understand? It doesn't make any sense! It's wrong!' her eyes went wide. 'OH, GOD, LOOK OUT! WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!'_

_The forest stump in the way busted the rattling carriage, throwing both the girl and cat several yards. The girl landed, rolling painfully on stones and twigs, her vision blacking out with stars. Shaking her head, she pulled herself up before looking waveringly to her left. _

_The cat was writhing in pain, her legs and arms trembling violently. She forced herself to stand, but instantly fell back on her knees. 'Don't even… think… about escaping –ahhhh!' she cried, clutching her throat once more. Panting for breath, she wheezed, 'I'm taking you back to Lord Stratego!' _

_The girl backed away fearfully, her sock in tatters from her missing shoe. The cat collapsed back on the ground, small mews of pain escaping her mouth. _

_And suddenly, the girl wasn't scared anymore. She took several steps towards the woman, her heart replacing panic with pity. Unlacing the ribbon from her neck, she tied it over a bleeding wound on the silver woman's wrist. _

'_I… I…' the cat stammered, trying to keep up her intimidation in the wake of this kindness._

'_Is that better?' the girl asked softly. 'What's your name?'_

_The woman turned away, her face defiant. _

'_Come on,' the girl coaxed. 'Why don't you come home with me? You shouldn't try to move in the shape you're in.' The cat stood and began walking away. _

'_Oh, please, don't worry. It's okay! I can talk to Knight and the others, you know? They're really nice. They'll know that you're not bad!' _

_Naria's shoulders shook weakly as she laughed darkly. 'Are you asking me to surrender, little girl? Puh, I supposed you want me to believe what you are saying. The only person I trust is Lord Stratego!'_

_She grabbed the girl by the collar and threw her forward to the ground. 'Now get walking!' she shouted. _

_But in that moment, the girl saw the cat's true feelings._

_She was in love with Stratego…"_

"Yeah, no duh," Van said sarcastically.

Hitomi snorted a laugh. "I know, right?"

"_Stratego stood before the huge screen, his face a mask for his worry. _

'_The harbor?' he asked his voice low and calm._

'_The girl's image is about to appear!' The Emperor replied. 'Dispatch the intensified luck soldier at once!' _

'_Please, Majesty, she has not yet had time to fully recover-'_

'_There is nothing to fear. The device is functioning normally.'_

'_Yes, but-' _

'_It's alright, Lord Stratego, you don't have to worry about me.' Eriya's voice echoed from the doorway. She let out a small whimper and held her side, but she grinned so that her fang showed. 'Please, let me go. You won't regret it.'_

'_Eriya…' he whispered, but then closed his mahogany eyes with a silent nod of approval. _

_Up in the skies, the king's same colored eyes feverishly searched the city grounds below for any sign of the girl. 'Where is she…?' he murmured into the wind. Dawn had just begun to peak and turned the clouds a blood-red orange. Turning to sweep back to the east, he shielded his eyes. But wait, he thought he saw…_

_With a quick exhale, the king saw the golden Zaibach Guymelef slipping from the clouds and headed in his direction. 'An intensified luck soldier…' he snarled, pulling in his controls. He steered straight for her, his exhaustion and anger filling his mind. _

'_Dragon!' Eriya roared, flipping out of the way. 'Disappear! I don't have time to fight you now!'_

_He swooped into a loop and charged on her tail. 'Come back here!' The jewel on the Escaflowne flashed and the wings tucked away. 'What the-' he cried as he began to fall once more. 'Damn it! It's more of that luck of theirs!' He tried to control the rapid descent, tossing the controls back and forth, but the dragon wouldn't respond. Twisting the tail, he managed to spin the Guymelef so that it would land in the water. Ripping his right control upward violently, the Escaflowne kicked back in; the wings expanding just in time for level and splash heavily into the water. He pushed the dragon back into the sky._

'_I can't get anywhere near it,' he panted, watching the Zaibach Guymelef gleam like a distant star. 'Well, in that case…' he closed his eyes, his mind picturing the swinging pendant. 'Where are you, brother?'_

_He saw a glimmer of a pale face looking out the window. The invisible floating fortress. _

_Where?_

_The pendant swung to the east. _

'_THERE!' he roared, and his eyes saw through the stealth cloak technology. _

'_I'm coming for you now, brother!'_

_On the other side of the mountain, on a small harbor a mile from the city, the silver cat rolled her eyes as she heard the girl's desperate words, 'Don't go back to Stratego! Please! Use this ship to go somewhere far away!' She tightened the haul and her trembling fingers slipped as she grasped a rope. 'Changing your body with some kind of machine and being hurt by it, even if it's for someone that you love, it's not right!'_

_The cat straightened up, her arms and legs trembling with both anger and pain. 'Shut-up!'_

'_It's wrong! It's so very wrong!' She screamed as the cat slapped her hand across the girl's cheek._

_Her green eyes whelped with tears. Why doesn't she understand? It's like she refuses to listen to anything or anyone… A voice whispered in her head, reminding: 'The uneasy feelings in your heart are calling forth a sad reality…'_

'_Uneasy feelings…?'_

'_Trust your feelings; your wishes will always come true…'_

'_Trust my feelings…' she whispered._

'_You're afraid,' the cat said with irritation. 'Afraid of what will happen.'_

'_Huh?' the girl shook her head, the voices gone. _

'_I'd sure be afraid if I were you.'_

'_Yes, but I'm-I'm… not.'_

'_Just tell me,' the cat hissed, turning her back to the girl. 'Why don't you run away? You could have escaped if you wanted to, but you didn't! Not then! Not now!'_

'_Because I believe in you,' she said simply, standing up. 'Look, it's just that I trust my own feelings. They tell me that you're not a bad person.'_

_The cat smirked, but her grin grew wider as the boat suddenly rocked violently. The sound of a rushing engine boomed overhead. _

'_Hello, sister!'_

'_Eriya!' the silver cat cried happily. Turning to the girl, she grabbed her shirt. 'Listen, brat! Serving under Lord Stratego is all I need to make me happy.' The girl could see from her gleaming eyes that she was telling the truth._

_Stratego, on the other hand, heard the shout through the communicator. 'DRAGON APPROACHING!'_

_Looking out the window with silent eyes, he watched the white Guymelef soar closer and closer._

'_Damn, how did he spot us!?' the co-pilot cried, attempting to turn the large fortress. The dragon was too quick. _

'_STRATEGO!' the king bellowed and the dragon rammed its head through the tall glass windows. It charged into the command center and the men ran for their lives. Tossing the Guymelef into Knight Frame, he unlatched the sword and swung it high in the air. 'Where are you!?' He slashed the controls, the hanging cords, anything he could reach. 'Show yourself!' In the midst of his rampage, a spark of fire burst from chopped wire. The fortress flickered back into view as the stealth cloak generator exploded._

_Both cats gasped in horror as they watched more explosions rock the now visible floating fortress. _

'_Stratego…' the silver twin mewed._

'_Oh, no!' the girl cried, feeling the king's presence on the fortress. _

'_Come on, sister, hurry!' the gold one urged, lowering her hand to pick her up. The silver grabbed the girl's shirt once more and started dragging her to the Guymelef._

'_Wait! I thought you'd understand!' the girl shouted, fighting her strong fingers._

_Suddenly, her shirt was released as both silver and gold twins grabbed their throats. Before her very eyes, the beauty of the silver cat's feline face melted away. She fell forward violently, coughing and hacking, her throat tightening dangerously. _

'_Why… why don't you just leave me alone…?' The cat glanced at the girl with solemn eyes. 'The Mystic Moon… I would have never believed it… the Emperor came from there… But you… you are different from him… better than him…' The girl helped her stand and she shoved her hand away. 'Naria…' she gasped. 'My name is Naria…It was the name I was given by Lord Stratego…'_

'_Naria… please…' she fell over as the cat pushed her away. _

'_God, you'd only get in the way if we took you with us!' she snarled before leaping onto her sister's awaiting hand. 'Hurry, Eriya! Take us back to Lord Stratego!' _

_The girl stood slowly, her green eyes unable to stop watching Naria's stooped back. Just before they took off into the sky, the silver woman's head turned to give her a small smile. _

_Just then, she knew… her feelings… her wishes… _

_They would always come true._

'_I'm here!' a voice called from the sky behind her. Turning, she saw Knight's blond hair being whisked away by the wind. He was in the levee ship. He was coming for her. Her green eyes slid from him to the rising sun. _

_The king…_

_He smashed another set of controls, his breath coming in sharp pants. 'Show yourself!' he hollered at the pillowing smoke._

_Out of the black fog came forth the figure of his brother. _

'_Brother…' Stratego said softly. _

'_There you are!' The White Escaflowne flicked its sword dangerously close. _

'_Why don't you understand that the creation of our new world is close at hand? This is the final battle… why can't you see that?'_

_He growled, his rage growing. He raised his blade high above his head ready to strike his brother. Just as he brought it down with a ferocious roar, a whistling cremma claw came bursting forth and blocked his blade. He was thrown off balance into a load-bearing pillar. The gold Guymelef landed heavily and the silver cat jumped down, springing in front of her Lord's body protectively. _

'_Leave him to us, Lord!' _

'_Naria!' the man gasped._

'_They are always here!' the king yelled, pulling the Escaflowne back up._

'_What is the matter with you!? Can't you see how much Lord Stratego cares about you?' the golden woman shrieked from her control chamber. 'Why can't you see how much he cares!? ANSWER ME!? WHY CAN'T YOU SEE IT!?'_

_The king was taken back, his black hair falling over his eyes. 'W-What?'_

'_I won't let anyone make Lord Stratego feel sad! NO ONE!' she screamed and the Escaflowne's jewel flashed once more. 'NO ONE!'_

_The fortress' core burst, exploding at the king's feet. He was blasted out of the windows and began to violently free fall to the waters below. He quickly tossed the Escaflowne into Dragon Mode and took enough air to sail to the sandy beach – he crashed hard, falling off the Escaflowne and losing his breath. Looking up, his foggy eyes watched the fortress was beginning to crumble. _

'_NO, MY LORD!' the silver cat jumped in front of Stratego, covering more of the blast with her body. She collapsed in his arms as the gold fell out of her control chamber with a loud cry of agony. _

_He carried the silver twin in his arms and knelt beside the gold. She grasped his leg and pulled herself into his lap. 'Oh, my lord, please get away from here. No need to worry about my sister and I.'_

'_You don't know how glad I am to have met you, Lord Stratego.' The silver rasped. 'I am happy to die with you watching over me.' _

_Their twin faces, once beautiful and wild, were wrinkled and twisted in pain. The silver woman fell silent in his arms, her panting breath gone. The gold used the front of his cape to crawl to her sister's body, tears falling from her eyes. _

'_We loved you…' she whispered, resting her head on her twin's still breast. 'Goodbye…precious Stratego…'_

_Behind him, the screen blurred and the face of an old man appeared. 'There was a reaction… there was a reaction of misfortune to the artificially enhanced good fortune!? But this experiment was successful beyond all my expectations! I have the answer! The answer that has forever eluded man! Our fate equations are now-'_

_He stood, setting the women down gently side by side._

'_Are you listening to me, Stratego?'_

_He turned to face the Emperor, his eyes dark with mourning and pain. 'You're wrong, Majesty.'_

'_What?'_

_That was the last Stratego saw of his Emperor's face as the screen fizzled out and the floating fortress collapsed into the ocean. _

_The king watched with mixed feelings. She had screamed that his brother loved him. After all the pain and misery and sorrow he'd caused, he loved him… and he couldn't see it. His mahogany eyes watched as a pair of jets streaked the sky._

_His brother had escaped in the gold Guymelef. _

"Stratego…" Nurse looked up to meet Van's eyes. A flicker of pity brushed over her features. "His brother was actually doing this because he loved him?"

"Stratego thought it was the right thing. But like always, he was played the fool. And in return, he lost his cat twins and that doppelganger thing and singlehandedly destroyed his country."

"Van…I…" she stopped for a moment seeing his scowl. "This book is hitting a bit too close to home, isn't it?"

"In more ways than one," he said with his eyes lowered.

She went quiet. And then: "Van, I don't want you to go after them."

"I have to."

"Please, I can't… I don't…" Her cheeks blushed heavily and her green eyes seemed to glisten.

"What is it?"

"I don't want to be alone!" The words spilled out and her breath caught in the throat. She blinked as if surprised by her own declaration.

"Alone?"

"My mother and father died when I was in high school. I supported myself through college and lived with Yukari's family during the summer. Van… what I'm trying to say is, I don't have anyone in my life. I'm here every holiday because I'll just be spending it alone in my apartment. I feel like-like I finally found someone. Van, with you, I'm not alone anymore."

The heavy silence that followed made it hard for him to breathe.

"What about Allen?" he croaked in a tight voice.

"He's… he's…" Her cheeks reddened brightly and she turned her gaze with twisting fingers.

Van was stunned.

"Nurse…"

"Hitomi!" she said swiftly, her eyes still unable to reach his. "My name is Hitomi, Van. I know what I said before about nurse/patient protocol, but … I can't have you call me that anymore. My name is Hitomi Kanzaki."

"H-Hitomi…" he whispered and she finally looked up to smile into his eyes. Though her hands were shaking in her lap, her shoulders straightened bravely and she nodded.

"I still have time, Van. Let's keep going in the book."

His voice was caught in his throat as she lifted the heavy novel with trembling fingers and began reading:

"_He held the blade in his hand watching the sharp teeth of the dragon snap together angrily. Dodging to the right, he tried to drive it further from its shelter in the trees. It followed, enraged, roaring at him. He had to make it to the heart. The soft part of the chest. That was the only way-_

_His mahogany eyes widened as the sharp tail of the dragon came lashing forward and smashed into his side. He was knocked back, his breath lost and his ribs stinging. He stood swiftly and sliced the claws that came at him. The lizard squealed and backed away, it's eye folding in pain. _

_He saw it then. His threatening eyes reflecting in its large orbs. He saw what he was. The creature's jaws crunched into his arm and tossed it away. The sword went flying. _

_He was defeated. _

_The memory, so long ago, washed through his mind as Stratego walked through the burnt crumbling ruins of his country. This land of Fanelia was guarded by dragons and was destroyed by the hand of those same dragons. _

_Naria…_

_Eriya…_

_Their faces bore the marks of suffering. The last of their breath called out their love and devotion to him. They had fallen and he was alone. In this destruction and chaos he had created, he was alone._

'_Will someone please tell me why my wishes won't come true?' his broken voice asked as he lifted his blood-shot eyes to the sky. _

_In another broken city, the citizens fearfully settled down for the night. Palas had been shaken, but hadn't fallen. However, a council was held in the caved-in throne room. Men sat in chairs around a round table their voices echoing loudly against the broken stones. Knight's fingers were laced together, but his blue eyes spilled with anger. The king, his head down, kept his thoughts hidden._

'_We are not at war!' One of them bellowed._

'_Indeed! The Empire hasn't announced the abandonment of the alliance!'_

'_Zaibach is only after one thing and that's the girl from the Mystic Moon! If we turn her over to them, they will not harm us any longer!'_

'_But their floating fortress has been destroyed!'_

'_We should remove the source of the problem before they retaliate!' _

_Knight couldn't take it any longer. Slamming his hands on the table, he shouted, 'If you hand her over to Zaibach, Gaea may very well be destroyed!'_

_Voices roared back, so many voices. Mingling together as one raucous argument. _

_The king still sat in silence. _

'_The people won't be satisfied even if we do give her to Zaibach,' Merchant spoke up, rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses. 'The people of Austuria lost their homes and family to the unprovoked attack. And therefore, in King Aston's stead, I hereby decree that in accordance with the alliance with our neighboring countries, economic sanctions be imposed against Zaibach.'_

_The king felt a bead of sweat drip down his cheek. His mind was in his memories. Remembering the voices of the Fanelian people snarling against his brother's name. Back when he was just a child... _

'_He's a coward!' _

'_He ran away from the right of dragon slaying!' _

'_He's abandoned his country!' _

'_He did not!' The king bellowed in his young voice. 'He's not a coward! He's not…!'_

_Sitting outside patiently waiting, the girl and Merle listened as the muffled voices finally ceased and the doors swung open. Knight and the king walked out. _

'_Ahh! My Lord!' Merle shrilled out, running to him and latching on with a hug. The girl walked behind, her eyes on Knight. _

'_How did it go?'_

'_Well, I'd like to think we're making progress.' He said optimistically. His lips turned down with distaste as the council members filed out and walked around them. _

_As they passed, the king glared at their pompous faces. 'Trying to starve them out won't do a damn thing,' he hissed at their backs. 'Stratego ran away again. Everything is his fault. My mind is made up. I will kill him for what he's done.'_

_She gasped. 'Wait, what are you saying?'_

'_As Fanelia's King, I'm going to avenge my people!' He left them to follow the council members out the door. _

'_Wait, you can't! You're brothers! It's not healthy to think like that-' Knight's hand landed on her shoulder and she stopped, her eyes rimmed with tears. 'It's as if death and killing don't matter to him anymore…' she whispered. Her eyes widened as Knight turned her around and hugged her. _

'_It's a fine thing to believe in your dreams,' he said softly over her head. 'I'll have to lock you away in a bird cage before long.' _

'_Don't,' she scolded gently. 'Don't talk like that.'_

_He escorted her back to her room. Tired as she was; however, she sat on her bed with her arms around her knees. The silver-haired cat's amber eyes flashed through her mind. She had followed Stratego. Love him so much even to endure agony itself. She went to him even as the world crumbled around her. A distant howling erupted in the night and she was startled out of her thoughts. _

'_Wolves?' she turned her eyes to the window curiously. Unknowingly, she clutched her pendant and it began to glow. 'Someone is calling…' she realized. _

_Further, in the outskirts of the city, the king sat up from his straw bed and climbed the ladder to the roof. The wolves' howl… he heard their cry. They pierced the night sky. 'They're calling for me…' he pressed his lips together, a dark but curious look in his eye. He climbed back down, passed the Escaflowne, and walked out the windmill doors. Heading up the mountainside, he heard the call again. _

_To the west. He turned that direction and headed into the trees._

_It was only another ten minutes before:_

'_The Fanelian King, I assume?' a voice called out from the trees._

_He stopped and stared hard in the darkness. Slowly a figure emerged – a elder wolf man with a snowy white beard. His golden eyes were filled with respect. _

'_You're the one who called me?'_

'_I have a message from Pack Leader Rham: Stratego is waiting for you in Fanelia.'_

'_What?!' he hissed as sharp painful memories resurfaced once more. Hunting with Balgus, the people were whispering of his brother's betrayal. Balgus had roared at them for their gossip; his scarred eye glaring dangerously. The warrior turned to the little prince, whose young face had fallen with sadness._

'_Cheer up, my prince!' the old man said encouragingly. 'Your brother will surely return! I know he will!'_

_The king ran down the mountain, his heart racing and his mind focused. But then he sensed…!_

_Stopping with a skid and whipping his hand to his sword, he barked, 'Who's there?' A familiar heart-shaped face and a pair of bright green eyes came out from the woods. In her hand, she held her pendant. _

_Dowsing… that's how she found him._

_Seeing her, he straightened and turned his eyes away with an air of irritation. _

'_Oh, so it's you.'_

_Early that morning, the city was beginning to awaken. Called to another council meeting, when the king didn't show, Merchant sent out soldiers to fetch him. _

_They reported no Escaflowne or the king. _

'_Ah, man,' Merchant scratched his head as he entered the empty windmill. 'What could he be thinking at a time like this?'_

_A carriage pulled up just as Merle fell into a puddle of tears at Knight's feet. Princess stormed out and ran to him. 'Knight! She's disappeared! I can't find her anywhere and her room's been cleaned up!'_

_Merchant turned to Knight with a smirk. 'Hey, you don't suppose they're…?'_

'_They are together?' The blond man answered solemnly. _

_Merle's sobs became louder. 'She probably seduced him!' the cat wailed. _

'_I saw them last night…' a sneaky voice crept in from under the carriage. The old theif struggled to free his rotund body as he grunted, 'That's right, they left together last night.'_

'_Hey! What are you doing under there?' Gadeth barked at the reins. He jumped down furious_

'_They left with the Esca-aaaah!' Gadeth yanked the old man out and yelled, 'You crazy idiot, what are you doing under the carriage!?' Merle leapt forward and snatched him away. Shaking the thief she snarled, 'Are you sure? Are you sure they left together!?'_

'_Ye-Ye-Ye-Yes!' he answered as the little cat shook him violently. _

'_Oh, no! Don't tell me that they eloped! Oh, he didn't even take me with him…'_

_Knight's face fell. He turned away from the gawking group and glanced at the bright sky._

'_Looks like I really did need that bird cage.'_

_Miles away, the Escaflowne's wings flapped above the fluffy white clouds. The girl's arms tightened around his waist as the king guided the dragon more to the east. _

'_What good will it do for you to come along?' he muttered. _

'_Don't worry! It's not a trap!'_

'_What isn't?'_

'_You got a message from that Pack Leader Rham, right? Is your brother such a liar that he would get your own friends to help him? It'll make sense when you see him, alright?!'_

'_Stop yelling in my ear!' he shouted. His eyes were tight, but he felt her arms loosen in surprise. Feeling a little bad, he added, 'It hurts.'_

'_Sorry…' _

'_I'll keep my word. Just like I promised. Whether it's to Knight or the Mystic Moon, I'll bring you back safely. I'm not going to let you down.' _

'_I know you won't,' she said softly._

_Deep in the heart of Zaibach, the Engine was running, but the images overlapped on occasion. Though there were no detections in the fate's regularity, the machine gave another strange sputter. 'Stratego's plan is still working,' the old man sighed. 'I mustn't worry. My new future is at hand. The fortress has been destroyed and Stratego has gone missing, but this will prove to be nothing. I know it. I can see it…'_

_Outside the capital of Zaibach in a facility not far away, The Four Generals of the Demon Armies had gathered together at once. The message of Austuria's economic blockade trembled in the fingers of General Adolphus. _

'_Those pathetic upstarts in Austuria are turning on us along with their allies!' He barked angrily. _

'_Absolutely right! And our Emperor doesn't seem to be making the slightest move!' The Bronze growled. _

'_The alliance is nothing but a mindless mob,' the Silver General injected, his thumb rubbing on his wine glass. 'That the Emperor has done nothing merely shows he has faith in us, The Four Generals.'_

'_I wish I could believe that…' Iron General Adolphus whispered, his face turned to the window - to the beautiful sky. His dark eyes moved down as a graceful figure crossed the garden below and smiled at the flowers with gentle blue eyes. Golden curls licked the nape of her neck as the thin woman bend down to pick up a small snail crawling innocently on a leaf. The warm wind blew at her gown as her head tiled curiously at the little creature. Slowly, her eyes focused closer – her face curled into a sneer – she opened her mouth to crush the creature dead between her jaws…_

'_What's wrong?' the Silver General's voice came from behind._

'_N-Nothing,' he answered, feeling a cold sweat on his neck. He glanced back down and noticed one of the attendants – a canine named Jajuka – had stopped her with a calm swipe of his paw. His brown fur glistened as he shook his head at her. He carefully took the snail and set it back down in the garden._

'_What's happening to Zaibach?' Adolphus murmured. 'What is happening to us all?'_

_The beautiful day was turning orange by the time the dragon soared over the broken city of Fanelia. Stratego waited, his mouth whistling a tune from long ago. A Fanelian lullaby. His mahogany eyes were turned to the broken steps he sat on. Memories of climbing these steps. Memories from a life lived and a life died. _

_And a life never lived at all. _

'_Do you think he'll come?' Rham asked his sharp eyes searching the skies. _

'_He'll come. It's my brother, remember?'_

_The man gave a wolfish grin. 'All this even though you two know each other so well? Ah! Well, I'll be- there he is!' _

_Stratego looked up immediately noticing a glimmering sparkle in the afternoon light. It was only a few minutes more and the king was soaring over his head, circling like a bird of prey._

'_Hello, brother,' the king whispered menacingly. _

_Stratego's eyes changed from his brother's to the girl latched on to his waist. He hadn't expected his brother to bring her along. After all this time of trying to catch her, trying to separate the two of them, even using spells of fate to create a divide. But here she was. Spell or no spell, they were together once more._

'_She's quite the unknown element,' he contemplated to himself. 'How… amusing…' _

_His younger brother landed the dragon softly before him and the girl blinked at the sight of Rham. _

'_Well, hello there!' the wolf greeted her in a friendly tone. 'Remember me? Glad to see you're still with him.' She blushed lightly. 'I understand you're a little worried, but leave the two of them alone. I'm not getting involved,' he raised his hands and backed away. 'You two boys, I'll see ya later.'_

'_Thank you, Rham,' Stratego said softly. His footsteps disappeared back into the woods. _

'_Are you alone?' the king asked sharply. _

'_Do you honestly think I'd lay a trap for my own brother?' _

_The black-haired man growled and leapt from the Escaflowne's back. 'You're no brother of mine!' he yelled whipping out his sword._

'_No, don't!' she cried, sliding down the Guymelef's white leg and landing awkwardly beside him. _

'_Look!' the king roared. 'Look around you, monster! Look at what happened to the homeland you abandoned! This green land protected by dragons is in ruins!'_

_The silence crept through the empty broken streets. _

'_Do you hate me?' The simple question fell from Stratego's lips._

'_I will kill you. You will pay for your crimes with this royal sword…' he hissed, holding his blade for a charge. Their eyes met. One was a calm quiet, the other a deadly glaze. _

_Suddenly, the king sensed something to the right. He dodged just in time for a wall to explode open. Pushing the girl behind him, he gritted his teeth. The scaly face and fierce roar of a land dragon stretched forth from the large hold it created. Seeing the king back away, it's glistening eyes fixed tightly on him. She turned around to run and screamed. _

_Another dragon was behind her. _

_They were surrounded._

'_Brother… brother, you had this trap in your mind all along!' he roared at the still figure. _

'_No, that's not right!' the girl shook her head._

_The first dragon lunged to attack and the king grabbed her just in time. His arms around her back, he urged her to run. 'I won't believe that they are wondering like this after only a few months!' he declared, rushing forward and grabbing her hand. 'This way!' _

_Together they stumbled over broken stones, the thundering footsteps of the giant lizards following closely behind. He pulled her into a crumbled building and held his sword in defense. The dragons approached slowly, one circling around the house, the other peeking in through the open doorway. _

'_Drop your sword, brother!' Stratego's voice called out. 'Let go of the rage in your heart and the dragons will go away.'_

'_Where are you?' he bellowed. 'You really think I'd fall for that?'_

_Behind her, a dragon's head hit the back wall and knocked it to pieces. His mahogany eyes widened as he saw the dragon's chest light up. He grabbed her in his arms and threw them both to the empty hallway on the right. He landed hard on his shoulder and she crushed his chest. He rolled over instantly to cover her and he felt the scorching heat of the flames lacing on his back. It stung, but he was okay. _

'_Damn it…' he coughed. 'Brother! Show yourself right now!' _

'_Fighting solves nothing,' the voice echoed. 'Yes, I failed to slay the dragon as part of my right to become king. I was ready to die back then when my arm was severed from my body. My fate was sealed with a wound like that, but… as we know, fate can be altered… a man called out to me. I awoke on a table, light's shining brightly in my eyes. He told me his name was Scientist and that he intended to control destiny with the power of Atlantis. That I had escaped because of my Draconian blood. He told me that together we would build a world free of war. My arm was replaced with the claws of a monster. And since then, I have learned the ways of science under the Emperor's tutelage. I became a sorcerer of the Zaibach Empire. I did it all for an ideal future.'_

'_Is that why you sold your country and your soul to Zaibach? For an simple ideal?' The king snarled back._

_Large pieces of clay and thatch fell around them and a dragon's face wedged through. It growled and broke through the entire shambling roof. He shoved her quickly to the open doorway and tossed himself to the other side. The dragon landed dangerously close to her and he ran forward to slice the lizard on the scales for distraction._

'_Run!' He cried as the dragon turned to him. 'RUN!'_

_She swiveled on foot and raced out the doorway. A thundering roar of dragon screams and she stopped, her heart beating wildly. Switching to the right, she climbed broken steps that would lead to the Dragon Temple. A shadow passed overhead. _

_An enormous body landed in front of her with a crunch. It let out a warning growl. She backed away, her scream dying on her lips. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the shadows. She struggled for only a moment before:_

'_Be quiet,' Stratego whispered in her ear. His mahogany eyes turned to the dragon, staring the creature down. She trembled with fright and awe as they stood off against one another. His hand dropped from her mouth and she blinked in surprise. The dragon let out a snort and clamored away. _

_Unable to hold herself any longer, she sank to her knees in relief. _

'_I want you to trust me.' He bent down to look her dead in the eye. 'I know this sounds strange, but I want to ask for your help.'_

'_You're just like Naria, aren't you?' she whispered looking down at his mechanical arm. 'Just like her. Your body was changed.'_

'_Naria… you… you knew her…' _

_Another roar, another flash of fire, the king ran from building to building, the dragons hot on his heels. Turning a corner, he was suddenly hit square in the chest and knocked into a wall. He collapsed in pain, his heart beating wildly, his body's adrenaline pumping furiously. _

'_Naria is dead, and those people in Fanelia, and Austuria.'_

'_That is precisely why we need to change the fate of man. We thirst for blood. And so it is up to all of us to bring peace to Gaea!'_

'_Yes, but that's not how changing fate is supposed to work!' she cried remembering her visions of Atlantis burning. A voice spoke through her mind, 'People respond to your feelings, right?' – It… it was Naria's voice!_

_Her vision broke as the snarls of dragons came from her left. Running to the edge of a tattered balcony, she saw the king cornered by three of them, his sword hardly a match at all. _

'_No!' she shouted in panic, but Stratego tore his shirt open. She gasped as his pale shoulders shifted into view and he ran to leap off the balcony. Wings of the deepest ebony sprouted from his back._

_He flew quickly, landing in front of his younger brother completely unarmed. _

'_Brother, but… but you…'_

'_Put down your sword!' he commanded, spreading his wings wider to cover him further. 'Put it down now!'_

_As if shocked, the king dropped the sword and it clanged on the ground harmlessly. With a gruffing snarl, the dragons blinked and turned away one by one. _

'_Brother, your anger and fear drew the dragons to you just as a drop of water causes ripples in a pond. Where there is anger and fear you will also find conflict. I will change the fate of man to create a new world free of that anger and fear.'_

'_A world free of all war…' the king repeated as if he couldn't understand. And then he remembered. He remembered the story Stratego once told him of the first King of Fanelia. He slew the dragon that had rampaged the city. _

_He had hated that story. Stratego told him that killing dragons was a king's destiny, but… he had never wanted the dragon to die. It didn't deserve that fate._

'_I wanted to lift that burden from your shoulders. Your gentle nature made me want to build a kinder Fanelia. There was nothing I wanted more in the world than to see that new country with you. However,' he rose down to pick up the heavy blade. 'The Emperor's methods… no our methods place little value on human life. Those methods were wrong and I realize that now.' Stratego lifted his monstrous hand to him. 'Come with me. Come with me and we will defeat Zaibach together.' _

'_B-Brother…' his voice broke. 'Your wings… they're black.'_

_The girl came running up just as the king placed his hand in his brother's clawed fingers._

She had read the entire chapter without any interruption from either of them.

The weight of the scene held heavy in the room. She closed the book.

"His brother joined him," Van commented emotionlessly after a few minutes of silence.

"It would seem so," she said, just as somber.

They couldn't look at each other.

"Van, I understand if you don't want me to keep reading," she said suddenly, biting her bottom lip. "It must be hard for you to hear. Betrayal, lies, murder… I get it. I understand your feelings."

He looked up from the quilt he was studying to see her face full of concern and sadness. Sadness for him. A simple patient stuck in a hospital bed. She knew his feelings? _Understood_ his feelings?

"Nurse-I mean… Hitomi…" he had to stop to get the right words out. He sat up with a small groan and reached out to grab her right hand. It was cold. He covered the top of her fingers with his other hand to warm them. Her shoulder raised timidly, but her lips gave a shy smile. "I don't want you to worry about me. What you said before, about being alone… this story… it's been a gift to me. Your company has been a gift to me. Day after day, you have spent your free time here. I won't send you away and I won't stop you from reading. This story has seen me through the worst moments of my life… and it's also seen me to the best as well."

Her mouth fell open slightly as his words hit home.

He kept going bravely. "You mentioned that you feel like you finally found someone… I feel that, too. I have said over and over that I believe in the evils of men, but you…you _prove_ to me that I am wrong. Your kindness proves how much of a damn fool I am for believing it. I've met horrible people in my line of work. Hell, my life is in danger because of it. You have such faith and trust… you've shown me that there actually exists something pure in this shit world we live in." He bent his head to stare at the floor. He couldn't look at her. "I never thought it'd happen, but I finally found someone I can put my faith in. Someone I can trust. Someone… someone I can love…"

Her hand shook as he said the word. He finally looked up to see her eyes glimmering wide.

"Love…" she whispered.

"This is better than 'I want your power', right?" his lips turned with a side smile, but his voice was shaking.

"You… you love me…"

"I do…" he confirmed again.

"And you trust me…"

"Always."

She suddenly retracted her hand from his grasp and stood. Hitomi took her head, her short hair tossing over her eyes. Her phone felt rebelliously hot in her pants pocket.

"I-I have to go…" she said briskly. "I will be back to read, but I'm off tomorrow."

"Hitomi," he called, but she gave him a quick wave goodbye and opened the door.

"I promise, I'll be back to read."

The door shut behind her.

His hands were still raised.

They fell limply back to his side.

* * *

**HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! And in celebration for the day of love, Van confessed... and then kind of got rejected! hahahaha! Poor guy. Okay, I had not realized this scene would fall on Valentine's Day! My bad, guys! BUT that doesn't mean this is the end! I'm hoping tomorrow or the day after this story will be completed and I can rejoice in the fact I wrote over 100,000 word story in less than a month. It's been a roller coaster ride, that's for sure. **

**I've been working on this pretty much non-stop but unfortunately for today, I'm tied to some planned events I have for this special day of LOOOOVE. The chapter might come late tomorrow and the day after. Forgive me for the tardiness, I've had a loooong week.**

**A big thank you to everyone who's stuck around for this story! Love you all to pieces!  
**

**Have a great one, you guys! Eat tons of chocolate and/or food in general. It's early here so I'm running to grab a latte of loooove before my insane day starts!**

**blue...**


	7. Chapter 7: The Gold Woman and Eriya

**And now we continue...**

* * *

She was a liar.

She was such a horrible perfect liar.

Van was right. He was right all along. There was no such thing as good people. Morality? There was no natural born morality. She had lied to his face and he said… he said…

"Oh, God," she moaned into the palms of her hands. "I called Allen and I told Van I didn't and now… oh, now he-" she shouldn't finish it. "I did it because I have to know for certain. What if Allen is only using me to get to Van? What if he's part of this _company_ that is after him? I want… I want to help him. I'm doing it to help him."

His face, those beautiful eyes flickering with nervousness, unease, and that warmth.

He… loved her.

And she… she loved him back.

Van had called her _pure_.

And she was just as tainted as everyone else.

* * *

Folken finally learned how the silver-haired woman died.

The whispers were growing rampant:

"… let the virus bypass the security mainframe…"

"…passwords have been leaked and can't be traced…"

"… take weeks to sort out the security system…"

"…whoever set this up has no idea who he's dealing with…"

"…shot her in the face because she let it slip by…"

"…stupid bitch has put the entire company in danger…"

"…glad he killed her. Dornirk even said she was a waste…"

The golden twin had stopped crying in public.

Her sister was the cause of it all.

Folken turned in his chair and saw his reflection in the window.

A shadow. A shell of a man.

The golden twin had become the same as him. A shell of a woman.

Or maybe…

She could become an ally…

* * *

This time, Allen was waiting outside the theater for her to show. Her green eyes tossed over his thick jacket and flannel scarf. His long hair was braided at his back. He opened his arms to hug her and she stiffened as they wrapped around her shoulders.

"I'm so happy to see you," he whispered in her ear. "I made sure to get here thirty minutes early just so I'd be here before you."

"That was considerate," she replied shortly not returning his hug. Taking a step back, she asked, "So, what's the plan then?"

"I had thought we could grab a bite and then go see a movie." He pointed his thumb to a poster of a woman and a man embracing. "I'll go get the tickets. You can wait here if you want."

"Sure," she said. She glanced back at the poster, her heart sank at the title: _'A Simple Walk Home'._ She pictured dragging Van to this movie and unthinkingly smiled at the thought. He'd have a field day making fun of it. And honestly, she'd probably be more entertained by that then the actual movie itself.

Van…

She shook her head to get rid of her thoughts as Allen walked back up to her. "There's this Chinese place. It's to die for," he grinned charmingly. He offered her his arm and she took it hesitantly. "It's just down this block."

She walked with him, half-heartedly listening to him talk about this gym he'd been to the day before. How would she go about bringing up the conversation about his work? She'd have to maneuver her way around it somehow…

Turns out, she didn't need to worry. The conversation came quite easily.

Just as they'd placed their order of steamed dumplings and fried rice, he turned to her with his blue eyes falling serious. "I'm sure you have questions for me."

"Questions…" she said with a quirked eyebrow trying to hide her surprise at his openness. "Yeah, I do… where were you on Groundhog's Day?"

"I told you I was called into work. I already had signed a contract with some people and they needed my help with delicate matters."

"Some people? Delicate matters?" she repeated with exasperation. She lowered her shaking hands into her lap to hid her nervousness.

"Allen, please, tell me what is going on. I want to trust you, but you keep hiding from me. You said you wanted a relationship, remember?"

His pale features fell and he expression turned sad. Then he took a deep sighing breath.

"I am a contract agent of a private investigation company that specializes in IT protection. The company serves politicians, governments, even other countries. I am called in when cases are extreme. Ironically, there was a reported virus in their systems that has been leaking information from their private files. The virus had grown – multiplied – it was copy/pasting their most sensitive data to an unknown location. Whoever had set up this worm knew what they were doing. The copied files were unreachable. The company couldn't track down where they were going. That's why they called me in."

"You're a hacker?"

"I'm a contract agent," he corrected. "I have the skills required to fight for whomever can pay for me."

"And they had a contract with you?"

"I had signed the contract previously. I have worked with them quite a bit in the past."

"What happened to the virus? Did you get it?"

He lips cracked a graceful smile. "I tracked it down and ended it. It took two whole days, but I finally cleaned the entire system. I'm still on the case though. It's going to take a while for investigation." His charming smile twisted a bit at the corners. "The copied files are still untraceable, but the one responsible for the mistake has been taken care of."

A strange shiver ran down her spine.

"That's unfortunate, but I'm so glad you were able to help the company solve the issue quickly. I understand now why you stood me up. But… why did your phone break?"

The smile twisted a bit further and she felt a drop of cold fear lace in her stomach. "I use my phone with my work and I wasn't informed properly about how the virus spreads. It got in my phone and I had to smash it before it took everything. I'm worried this guy who made this _thing_ has everything about me."

"Oh, no!" Hitomi cried covering her heart with her hand. "That's terrible, Allen. If you had told me sooner I would have understood. Please, forgive me that I got mad at you. Had I known how dangerous your work is I'd-"

His hand reached out from the table and he extended his long fingers to her. With a sweet smile, she placed her palm in his. "Thank you for understanding."

"Of course, Allen. I never knew you were so talented. When you said contractor, I-I mean that could be just about anything really." She turned up the charm a little higher as his fingers slowly closed over her hand. "I don't even think I have a proper social media account now that I think about it. How did you get to be so good at computers?"

"Some people just have a natural born gift," his grin spread wide on his face at the compliment. "Analytical thinkers."

"I don't know anyone like that," she leaned her cheek in her free hand. "I'd love to hear more if you don't mind. It's like a secret world with you, Allen."

"Vigilante with computers," he chuckled.

"You got the motorcycle to go with it, too," she added. "All you need is a cape."

"You're a hero in your own right, Hitomi."

"What do you mean?" she asked surprised by the turn of conversation.

"Well, you work really hard at the hospital. You take care of patients there. You are probably a hero to one or two of them."

"By cleaning bedpans?" she giggled. "Watch out, Allen, it's Super-Nurse!"

"Exactly," he grinned. "You're Super-Nurse."

* * *

He was working for the company.

He was a hacker that worked on contract.

He had found Van's worm and destroyed it.

She sat trembling at her vanity back at her bedroom, her green eyes on Merle's frozen little cat face.

She had acted as well as she could. She'd lied and charmed and survived the night.

Her eyes glazed up to see her pale face. God, she hadn't thought this through. She hadn't realized that she'd have to tell Van she called and actually went on a date with Allen in order to learn this information. He was going to be furious at her. He'd call her an idiot. Say that she'd put herself at risk.

But the question remained deep in her head:

Was Allen seeing her because he knew about Van? Was he using her to get to him? Or did Allen really not know that she was Van's nurse?

And then the horrible thought crossed her.

What if she was putting Van in danger? What if her seeing Allen was bring him closer to discovering Van was the one with the virus – and therefore, the information that was stolen?

* * *

The day had passed so slowly Van actually found himself wishing Wheel of Fortune was on. Instead, he flicked the remote and scrolled through another series of channels. News, news, sports, drama, foreign drama, news, cartoon about ponies, news…

"Yo," a knock and a face appeared at his doorway. Van smiled.

Dryden.

"How's it going, man?"

"Not too much. Just resting from arm weights."

The brown-haired neurologist whistled as he spied the small weight bells on his table. "Moving on up to five pounder. We'll have a lifting gym in here before long."

Van snorted. "I feel bad for skipping leg day though."

Dryden strolled forward and turned the guest chair around to sit on it backwards. "It happens when you can't even walk straight. Which brings me to what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What's that?"

"Discharge date."

Van blinked in surprise. "Discharge? You kicking me out, doc?"

"If it were up to me, I'd hit your head with a hammer to keep you here, but Millerna's insisting. Once you pass leg rehab, we gotta get you out and into the world. The sooner you get to walking, the sooner your life can return to normal."

"Yeah… normal…" Van murmured. "I'm the only patient with bodyguards. Completely normal."

"Oh, you can take them along with you if you want," Dryden smirked, pointing over his shoulder at the doorway. "You don't get to see them because you're safely in here, but two of them look like they could punch a hole through my brain with a flick of a finger." The brown man winced. "Too soon for hole in brain jokes?"

He laughed. "I've been waiting, doc. I'm surprised you took so long for those jokes."

"Damn, I'm going to miss you," Dryden's smile lowered. "You get it, don't you?"

"Yeah, man. I get it. I'll miss you, too."

"But hey! You're not gone yet!"

"Still missing leg day!" Van added wiggling his legs under the covers.

"I'll get back with you on the exact date, but I just wanted tell you in person."

"Thanks, doc, I appreciate it," he said honestly.

"Dude!" Dryden checked his watch. Turning his chair sharply to the TV, he pointed, "Channel 25 now! Wheel of Fortune is on!"

"Don't you have patients or something?" Van chuckled picking up the remote.

"Waddya talkin' about? I'm with one right now," the brown-haired man laced his fingers behind his head.

* * *

She came in quietly, her green eyes unable to look at him. He knew he should have been nervous or embarrassed, but he wasn't.

Hitomi, his precious Nurse, had rejected his confession. It sucked ass, but that's how it goes. He found that he was content she still decided to come in here to read to him. Even if she couldn't return his feelings, he wished that somehow they could continue the easy relationship they'd shared together. The fact that she came to him tonight was encouraging at least.

"Hi, Van."

"Hello, Hitomi, had a good day off?"

"Not really. Didn't do much. Just needed to rest."

"That's good."

"You?"

"Worked on legs a little more. Gotten a bit better." He pointed at the folded wheelchair beside his bed. "I get to move around a bit at least. My arms are pretty much back as they were."

"Congratulations."

So much for easy relationship.

He sighed. "Look, Hitomi, I know what I said before probably frightened you. I'm sorry. I like having you in here to read to me. Even if you don't feel the same way that I do, I can deal with that. So, please," he gestured to the chair. "Stop standing there and tell me what happens to the king and that damn Knight and the Mystic Moon girl who can't make up her mind. Let's see who wins a steak, okay?"

She didn't look as relieved as he wanted her to be, but she did reward him with a soft smile and a nod.

Heading to the chair, she sat down and her sweet smile grew a little more. Her green eyes had a warmth in them.

"What?" he asked gently.

"I saw a movie yesterday," she started randomly. "I thought of you the entire time. It was a romance movie. It was awful."

"Did it at least have a giant robot?"

She giggled, "No, but it did have a fist fight in the middle of a Valentine's Day Party."

"Good enough for a chick-flick then."

She opened the book and ducked her head shyly. "Alright… let's keep going, shall we?"

He smiled at her.

"_Asylum! Stratego of Zaibach is asking us for asylum?' The voice echoed broadly down the newly refurbished throne room. The long table of counselors sat in awe as the tall Fanelian stood before them, his head held high. The guards at his side shifted anxiously. _

'_That Emperor's insanity knows no bounds!'_

'_It's inevitable that Gaea will see the worst disaster in her history!'_

'_That is why you come seeking asylum?' _

'_No government can trust an enemy unconditionally!' _

'_Yes, that's right,' Merchant injected smoothly, his hands folded together. 'This is far too premature.'_

'_Of course, I come bearing gifts,' Stratego spoke up. Every back straightened in their chair at his announcement. _

_Outside the throne room, standing on the balcony, the girl looked out at the cheerful blue sky. Her feelings were mixed with apprehension and worry. Stratego's arrival changed everything. He proved everyone's suspicions about Zaibach. Austuria formed a military alliance with her neighboring countries. Austuria took in Stratego to gain information on Zaibach. He used his knowledge to plan military strategies, provided the blueprints for technologies so far in advance. He even assisted in the retrieval of his floating fortress from the ocean floor._

_But the king… her eyes fell to watch the workers hammering wood – still rebuilding after the destruction of the intensified luck soldiers. _

_The king clearly didn't trust him. She had seen him cleaning Escaflowne in the Guymelef hold, ignoring his brother as he walked past. He avoided him at every possible turn. _

_But it was inevitable. They had needed Stratego. He was invaluable._

_She sighed and knew it was time for her to be headed back to the small chapel. Though it was located outside the city, it was being used as a main headquarters for extra supplies. If she didn't head out soon, Merle'd come to get her anyway. The girl turned away from the balcony - and her thoughts. _

_She was surprised to see the king already there when she arrived. He did a double take and nodded a simple greeting before continuing to braid the rope in his hands. She walked to him, picked up three pieces, and began to help him. _

'_Wouldn't it be enough to help out at the castle shelter?' he asked glancing at her._

_The girl caught his eye and looked back down quickly. 'No,' she said softly. 'You see I'm partly to blame for-well, for what happened to the city.'_

'_Great, then why didn't you come yourself?' Merle yowled snarkily behind her, carrying towels. _

'_Hey, no one asked you to come along, Merle.'_

'_Are you trying to pick a fight?' the cat girl growled._

_A rustle of hoof prints and carriages resounded outside and everyone stopped to look at the doorway. One of the head priests jumped forward as a whisk of long blond hair appeared out the carriage door. 'Thank you for coming all the way here, Princess. You grace us with your presence.' Merchant filed out behind her as well as Knight._

'_It's nothing, I will do anything I can to help those who have met with such hardship,' she said warmly. 'There has been food delivered from our allies. We are needing assistance in handing it out to families.'_

'_I will gather volunteers,' the priest bowed._

_She wasn't kidding about the delivery or the assistance. As the girl, Merle, and the king arrived back in the city, Palas' market was bustling with crowds of people. Merle was the first to jump up. _

'_I'm going to go help!' she shouted. _

'_Yeah, me too!' the girl hurried to follow. The king took a step back, watching the girl hand out small packages of fruit to an elderly couple. His back hit the wall behind him and he crossed his arms worriedly. Merchant came over to join him. _

'_You know, Zaibach might attack while we're doing this,' the king grumbled, watching a small child pull on the girl's shirt. _

'_Seems your mind is always on war, isn't it?' he answered with a toss of his brown pony-tail. _

'_If you don't fight you're just waiting to be killed.'_

'_Hmph,' he turned to give the king a crooked smile. 'You soldiers are a strange bunch. Don't you guys think any other way?'_

'_Zaibach is going to destroy Gaea just like they destroyed Fanelia.' _

'_Huh?' Merchant's smile dropped from his lips. He sighed, 'I know it's tough, but you gotta try and not let it get you down, Fanelia.' He pushed off the wall and walked to meet the Princess. He turned his eyes to the ground and ignored the sound of footsteps coming up to him. Somewhere in the crowd he heard Merle shriek, 'Hey! Don't pull my tail, you little brat! Give that back!'_

'_Well, would you look at that?' the girl's voice came from his left. 'She really fits in.'_

'_Merle understands what they're going through,' the king said. 'All those children over there lost their families. Merle did, too. I wonder if war will make more kids like them. I hope not.'_

'_Me too,' she agreed sadly. 'I wish there didn't have to be war.'_

'_You want to live, don't you?' he grunted before standing up to walk away. _

_She couldn't respond, her green eyes following his stiff back. _

'_There you are!' a sharp tone called from behind her. She turned with confusion to see Knight's face crunched in anger. 'Why are you here!? What are you doing!?'_

'_W-Well, b-because everybody's doing something,' she stammered at his anger. 'I couldn't just sit there and not help.'_

'_How could you leave the castle!?' he grabbed her shoulders roughly and shook her slightly. 'Don't you understand how important you are to the future and well-being of Gaea!? You're always leaving without asking! Like when you went to Fanelia with __**him**__!'_

'_Stop that,' she shifted out of his tight grip. 'I really don't think that's any of your business, Knight.'_

'_Don't hide anything from me, alright?' his blue eyes sparked with suspicion. _

'_Hide what?' she cried. 'I'm not hiding anything from you!' _

_Brushing past him, she walked back to the crowded market. _

'_Where are you going?' he called at her back._

'_I'll go back to the castle later by myself!' she took off running and disappeared easily within the sea of people. _

_Sneaking out to the east gate, she kept her head down as she walked a dirt pathway back to the chapel. 'What's the matter with me?' she chided herself. 'I got mad and told Knight off. I can't believe I just did that…' Her eyes lifted to see the beautiful blue sky. The two moons, always visible, glimmered brightly at her. Home… It was so much simpler back then. No wars, no kings, no robots. Just a simple girl with a simple necklace. She bit her lower lip. There was a time long ago when she ran. She ran and ran and her head rushed with the adrenaline of exercise, not fear. Her body pumped with strength, not cowered in fear. _

_Bending down in the grass, she wondered if she still had that good form that Amano had commented on before. Her feet braced where she used to have them, her head and spirits lifted with the familiarity. A bird flew over her head and she took off like it was a gunshot. _

_And she ran. She pushed her legs hard, stretched for more distance. She soared through the field, leaping over the fences, scattering flocks of seagulls that were lazily perching on the beach. She changed course, entering the city, running over cobbled stone, her head – for the first time – emptying of all her worries. _

_It was dusk by the time she entered the castle. She collapsed on the side of a pillowing fountain and felt the muscles in her legs still warm and ready. How long had it been since she'd ran this much? She felt a sense of pride that her endurance had not left her. Stretching her arm across her chest, she started as a voice called to her from behind._

'_Do you miss your homeland?'_

_Turning around, she saw Stratego walking towards her, a faint smile resting on his lips._

'_I… I do…' she admitted surprised he could read her so easily. 'I used to run like this as a sport.'_

'_You did? I can understand why. You are a fast runner.'_

'_Thank you,' she said softly, her cheeks blushing not just with adrenaline. 'Hey, can I ask you something?'_

'_What about?' He took several steps to her. _

'_It's about your brother…'_

_Dusk had long faded into night as she finished, '… he doesn't trust me. Or you. Or anyone. He only thinks of war now. This was not who he was when I first met him. He was kinder back then. I try to think of things that might cheer him up, but…' she stopped._

'_He never changes, does he?' Stratego injected._

'_I only wish I could get him to understand…'_

'_Why aren't you scared of me?' he asked quietly and she looked up at him in surprise. 'I'm the man who used the intensified luck soldiers and made them try to kidnap you.'_

_She shrugged awkwardly. 'I can't say I'm okay with it, but…'_

'_But what?'_

'_If I was scared of you then you'd be on your guard, right? I don't want to do that. If you don't trust people then they don't trust you.'_

_His eyes grew dark. 'Do you understand that seeking refuge here may just be part of my plot?' _

_The girl smiled. 'Even if you were, I've very sure you'd return that trust. It might not be that apparent though.'_

_Stratego was taken aback by her honesty. Her absolutely faith and trust. So, that was her power. She believed in people. _

_Deep in the shadows hidden from their eyes, the king stood listening. _

_He'd heard every word._

_Miles away, over the mountaintops of Rampant Fortress, a banners of green laced with a golden iris came forth gliding from the night sky. A large humming ship was guided into the massive loading dock that had been carved into a giant cave. _

'_The Guitomian Trevele has arrived,' the lookout announced from his post._

'_What about the advance forces from Palas?' One of the soldiers called with a cup of tea in his hand. _

'_I received word they were arriving at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning.'_

_Inside Rampant's Hold, massive ships, all with various banners of color and shape were parked together. 'The armies of Tedalas, Joko, and even Basram!' One of the soldiers whistled. 'Looks like this is going to be the first Great War in Gaea's history.'" _

"War again it seems," she commented, turning a page. She felt Van's eyes on her face and she knew she was starting to blush.

"_It was a clear, crisp night. The girl cleared the steps on the balcony. Knight came from behind a pillar to greet her. Her memory flashed with a picture of him and Princess sharing a passionate kiss… she closed her eyes and shook the thought away. _

'_You wanted to see me? What is it?' she asked softly._

'_Dispatch orders have come down,' he told her. 'The king and I will leave at dawn.'_

'_What?' she gasped._

'_But before I go, there's something I want you to hear: Prince Chid of the Duchy of Freid… he was born out of the result Princess Marlene and I surrendering ourselves to love. Prince Chid is my son."_

_A small 'oh' came from her. That was all she could say._

'_I had to tell you,' he took a step closer. 'My heart won't let me hide things from you because I love you. Now that you know everything… I don't know if you'll still love me… The two of us together under the same sky. Bathed in the same moonlight.'"_

"What a creepy ass…" Van shuddered.

The reaction was so _Van_ it made her burst out in unexpected laughter. He looked at her surprised before joining in. It was a couple of minutes before either of them could speak again. When they finally stopped, they were smiling gently at each other.

"_The room was dark. A familiar glass of pink wine stood next to his table. 'Where… where am I?' his voice rasped out._

'_You are on the floating fortress of Delate.' A canine man answered. _

'_Delate?' Dilandau repeated confused. His red eyes tossed around the empty room. 'Where's Chesta?'_

'_He is dead,' the beast man said._

_His hand shook as he reached for his wine. 'And where is Gatti?' he hissed._

'_He is dead.'_

'_And Dallet?' his trembling fingers picked up the glass and wine sloshed from the rim. _

'_Dead.'_

'_And Veole?'_

'_Dead.'_

'_They're… dead…?' _

'_All dead,' he answered._

'_DEAD!?' He threw the glass at the canine and it shattered on his armored chest. Pink wine stained his coat and fur._

_Dilandau stood, his eyes wavering on the man's quite features. 'And so who are you then?'_

'_My name is Jajuka.'_

'_Jajuka, huh?'_

'_I'm a soldier under your command. I am alone.'_

_The word stung him. _

_Chains… white hot pain… _

_I am alone… _

_I am alone…_

_Dilandau screamed grabbing his head. The pain! The lights! There were chains on his wrists! He was alone! The wires! The wires were on his chest! The silver-haired boy ripped his shirt trying to take them off. He scratched his body with his fingernails before falling to the ground in exhaustion. His panted and then his breathing leveled out and he sighed._

_He looked up sharply. _

'_Jajuka, get me my new Guymelef. I trust a new one is ready?'_

'_Yes.'_

_Dilandau stood shakily, but his lips curled in a smile. 'I haven't fought in a long time.' He said, pulling on his coat. 'I'm looking forward to this.'_

_Dawn came faster than anyone wanted. The levee ships deployed and they headed out to the Rampant Garrison. The king stood in the hanger with the Escaflowne watching Palas disappear into the sunrise. _

'_Hey, here's where you went,' Knight came up behind him. 'I wanted to talk to you.'_

'_About what?' he asked not looking at the blond man._

'_About her…' _

_The king knew who he was talking about. His shoulders tensed but his voice was calm. 'She means nothing to me.'_

'_Yesterday, I asked her to marry me.'_

_He took a sharp intake of breath; his mahogany eyes closing tightly. His stomach curled like he'd been punched in the stomach. _

'_She's to give me an answer when I return.'_

_He remained silent; the words still washing over his mind. _

'_I don't know why but my heart's at ease when I'm with her.'_

'_I want you to promise me something,' the king finally said. 'I want you to promise you'll protect her.'_

'_I promise that I'll never let anyone take her,' Knight's blue eyes narrowed. 'Even if it costs me my life.'_

_The object of their conversation woke with a heavy head later that morning. Rushing to the window, she knew it was fruitless to say goodbye. She'd overslept and missed their departure. _

'_Knight…' she sighed into the morning._

_Getting dressed, she headed down to the castle square to assist in supplies; however, her mind kept turning back to the night before. Knight loved her and wanted to marry her. This was what she wanted. She wanted Knight._

_Right?_

_Leaning against a pillar, her eyes flickered to the two moons in the sky. 'Can I ever go…' she stopped as a wave of homesickness hit her. _

'_Oh! Check it out!' Princess' cheerful voice called from beside her. She turned with surprise to see Princess twirling in a lacy apron. 'What do you think?' she giggled, holding a box of wet clothes in her arms. A woman came racing forward. _

'_Oh, please, Your Highness, you really shouldn't.'_

'_Don't worry. I don't think Merchant will complain if I do a little laundry, right?' she smiled beautifully at the girl. Motioning with her head, she ignored the lady's protests. The girl followed closely behind as she led the way to the servant's quarters. Up the stairs and through a doorway, the Princess dropped the basket and yanked out a white sheet to hang. They worked together for several minutes in silence._

'_Um… I… I need some advice,' the girl said hesitantly. 'Could you help me out?'_

'_Sure!' she chirped back happily. 'But what could you need advice about?'_

'_Well, I… I sort of have this really good friend, you see, but she's found out that this guys really a playboy.'_

'_Okay,' the Princess encouraged._

'_And he even has an illegitimate child! At least that's what I've heard.' Both women blinked. This was beginning to sound way too familiar…_

'_So you knew-'_

'_You found out-'_

_The Princess' shocked face turned sad. 'I thought I was the only one who knew. I guess that all sorts of things happen in one's life. You can't really do anything about something they did before you met them.'_

_The girl blinked and looked away from her fading happiness. Princess… she was still in love with Knight…'_

_Meanwhile, the Palas levee ship had finally reached Rampant. Knight leaned against the wall of the deck as the ship turned course to head inside the cave. A dark flicker in the sky made him start. What was that?! Just as Gadeth gave the command to ready anchor, a floating fortress flickered into view above the mountain top. _

'_Turn about!' Knight yelled, running up to the window. 'Don't head into the cave! A floating fortress!' Numerous black dots like a swarm of bees from a hive came racing from the bottom of the fortress. _

_They were here! They had been waiting!_

_The other countries already at port were leaping into action. _

'_Send out the Garrison!'_

'_All pilots to Guymelef units!'_

_It was an order too late. Zaibach Guymelef's had landed. Cremma claws shot, destroying ships and hangers alike. _

_And then a scarlet Melef dropped into the scene. _

'_I'm here…' Dilandau's eyes shined with delight. Lifting up his arms, he flicked on his flamethrowers and shot two deadly streams of fire into the hold itself. He roared with laughter, flecks of spit hitting his controls. _

_The co-pilot in the Palas levee ship gasped. 'Commander! It's on fire! The entire harbor's on fire, sir!'_

'_It's a Zaibach sneak attack! Take us in now! I'll go out and hold them off! GO!' Knight ran out the door without another word._

'_You heard the man! Take us in!' Gadeth barked at the pilot. _

'_YES SIR!' the man roared, turning the large wheel in his hands. _

_Within minutes, the Escaflowne and the grey Guymelef were standing together outside the loading bay. _

'_Knight, I'll go in first!' the king said through his control chamber. 'I'll split their forces!' With that said, he dived out of the ship and tossed the Escaflowne into Dragon Frame. He flew ahead of the ship. Hurrying to the Hold, he sucked in a startled breath. 'Good God, it looks like a sea of fire! Damn!'_

'_Cover the right flake!' an officer cried just before he was hit with a spiral of fire. Zaibach Guymelef's just stood, their flames consuming everything in their path._

'_Bastards!' The king snarled, changing the Escaflowne to Knight Frame. Holding his sword high, he fell fifty feet and used the momentum to slice a Guymelef in half. _

'_It's the Ispano!' one of the Zaibach pilots cried. _

_The king zeroed in on his kills, picking them off one by one. _

_Back in Austuria, the girl entered back into her room with a tired sigh. A flicker of a light caught her eye from the glass window and she glanced at it curiously. It flashed again… sparking… like clashing swords… like… fire?_

'_What?' she gasped. 'What-what's happening…?' Taking several steps closer to the glass, she stumbled backward as it broke. A vision… no… _

_Something worse…_

_She ran to the balcony, her eyes searching the sky fruitlessly. She suddenly saw her pendant swinging before her eyes. 'I'll protect you…' the king's thoughts came through to her._

_He dodged a cremma claw just in time and crunched his sword through the attacker. He saw the pendant and watched it swing to the right. He turned just as a scarlet Guymelef slid into view. The laughter could be heard through the fury of flames. _

'_Oh… this is too good to be true!' Dilandau shrieked with laughter. 'Whoever thought I'd run into you here of all people!' _

'_The red Guymelef…' the king whispered, readying his sword. _

'_It's been a while… so LET'S PLAY!' the boy lifted his right arm and shot the cremma claw directly at him. He met the claw with his sword. As he blocked, the scarlet Melef thundered in for a frontal attack. His cremma claw transformed instantly into a hard sword. The sparks flew as they clashed together. Jumping back, Dilandau shot a stream of fire. The king dodged, but still felt the flames lick the Escaflowne's body. The skin on his left leg and arm stung. _

'_Careful you might get burned!' he screamed with a sharp laugh. It was cut off as a ship's shadow covered the ground and a grey Guymelef came dropping into the scene. He flew down to the scarlet mecha and was blocked instantly. Driven back, he landed in front of the king._

'_Knight… I HATE YOU!' He snapped the cremma claw and Knight blocked the attack just in time. _

'_Cover me from behind!' Knight roared at the king. _

_Turning the Escaflowne, the black-haired king caught the shadows of stealth cloaks. They hid in the billowing smoke. _

_They couldn't hid from him._

'_That's the Ispano Guymelef everyone's been talking about!' _

'_If I defeat it, I'll be a hero!' _

'_I will be rewarded for my service!'_

_He saw the pendant. He saw it lazily swinging._

'_No, please!' the girl called out from miles away. Her vision latched on to his will. He was pulling on her strength to keep from failing. 'Stop it!' _

_He roared as he charged an invisible Melef. He tore it to shreds. _

'_I'll protect you,' his voice spoke through her mind and she saw the pendant swing again. _

'_No…' she grasped the balcony for support. 'Please stop fighting!' _

_He blocked an attack from the right._

_Several yards away, the grey and scarlet Guymelefs ripped at each other. Knight countered an attack and drove the butt of his blade into the silver-haired boy's chest. Seeing sparks, the boy snarled, 'I see you're as good as ever…'_

_As Knight raised his sword for a final blow, another mecha came charging in from the side and rammed him off-balance. _

'_No, Lord Dilandau!' Jajuka's usual gentle eyes were in a wild panic. He fought to control his momentum._

'_Stay out of this, Jajuka!' Dilandau snarled. The beast man matched Knight's blade and they contested strengths. _

'_He's good,' the blond man panted._

_Meanwhile, the king bellowed as he sliced another… and another… and another… guided by the pendant's power. _

_He was invincible._

'_I'll protect you,' his voice sang in her ears with each kill he made. She trembled in fright. 'Why can I see this…?' _

_With shoulder gears sparking wildly around his head, he raised his sword to strike yet another. _

'_Please, that's enough!' _

'_I'll protect you.' _

_He turned after cutting a Guymelef in half to see the scarlet mecha charging after him with both cremma claws melted into blades. Dilandau laughed manically. Ringing steel sang in the fiery air as they met with a flurry of clashing swords. _

'_Enough…' she had fallen to her knees. 'Too far…'_

'_I'll protect you.'_

_He broke the scarlet's hold and blocked yet another strike. 'I don't get it,' the king panted. 'Why is this guy so bloodthirsty?!'_

'_Can't you hear my heart pounding?' Dilandau shrilled voice echoed out. He thrust forward and the king barely had time to evade. _

'_Damn,' he hissed as a small cut hit the Escaflowne's leg. He felt the cut dripping down on his own. _

'_No!' Knight yelled, seeing the king's plight. Jajuka rained another heavy blow and he realized he couldn't help._

'_NOW DIE!' Dilandau screeched stabbing both blades towards the Escaflowne's chest. With gritted teeth, the king shoved his sword sideways just in time to block both. _

'_What!?' _

'_I WON'T BE KILLED BY THE LIKES OF YOU!' The king roared._

'_I'll protect you.' _

'_STOP IT!' she cried covering her head with her arms. Her pendant began to glow a sharp light as he drew even more power. Likewise, the Escaflowne's control jewel instantly resonated, covering both the Dragon and the scarlet mecha in the white beam. The power was flowing through him. The will to protect. _

_The will to fight!_

'_Lord Dilandau!' Jajuka shouted, driving his sword from Knight's and rushing towards the boy. _

'_Jajuka! JAJUKA!' he shrieked backing away from the white monster. As the king lifted his sword for a final blow, the dog-man rushed in and caught the blade. _

'_Go, Lord Dilandau!' _

_The boy's vision was wavering. The hard chains. He was alone. But the fire. There was heat all around him. But the chains were there. Dilandau… Dilandau… he was Dilandau… he screamed, falling to his knees with a crumbling thud. But the chains brought him back. They always brought him back to the place. _

_The place where he was alone._

_The beam of light flashed again, this time engulfing the scarlet mecha. All three men stood in awe as Dilandau rose into the sky and disappeared with a flash._

'_He… he's gone…' the king panted, his mahogany eyes wide._

'_NO! Lord Dilandau!' Jajuka threw his Guymelef into Flight Mode and took off into the sky. The floating fortress above their heads crackled as the stealth cloaks were activated and it vanished from sight. The king stood silent, his gaze never leaving the spot where the fortress disappeared. However, Knight turned his head, his blond hair falling over his blue eyes as he looked at the destruction of the Rampant Hold._

'_They got us… they completely out-maneuvered us. We must return to Palas.'_

_She was crumbled forward holding her pendant tightly in her hands. Her heart beat terribly in her chest. Her stomach felt sick. 'Why…' she sobbed, tears falling on her lap. 'Why is everyone fighting…? I don't want to see this anymore.'_

_The announcement was made several hours later. The battle levee ship had docked back in Palas. With her eyes still puffy, the girl joined Merchant and Merle to greet the returning soldiers. Merle pestered her only once before stopping with her ears lowering. As they walked through the streets, she felt the cat-girl's hand slip into hers. _

_Merchant instantly hurried over the brinks to Knight, the king, and Gadeth as they disembarked from the ship. She let go of Merle's hand to walk slowly closer. _

'_Hmm, I see,' he murmured as Knight finished telling what happened. 'Rampant was completely destroyed. We must hold the meeting with our allies here in Palas.'_

'_Yes, you're right,' the king nodded. 'Zaibach will come at us with everything they've got.'_

'_Yeah,' the brown-haired man rubbed his chin thoughtfully._

'_We could launch a pre-emptive strike. It's going to be either us or them-'_

'_Why is fighting the only thing you can think about?' her voice echoed out, startling the men. Her question wasn't posed to Knight or Merchant – but to the king. She took another step closer, her green eyes glaring. _

'_What are you saying?' he asked confused. 'We've got to fight to protect you and everyone else.'_

'_I saw it!' she cried almost like accusing. 'I know that you enjoyed the fighting! I really don't want you to protect me if that's what it does to you! I'm s-sick of all of it!' her words broke. 'I'm sick of this whole world!'_

'_No,' he breathed. He pushed Merchant aside. _

'_Someone send me back!' she screamed. 'Someone send me back to my world!' _

_Her wish was heard. _

_And granted._

_The pink pendant glowed brightly and a beam of light shot down to cover her. She rose slowly into the air, her green eyes closing in relief. _

'_NO!' The king yelled, running up as she flew faster. It disappeared as he reached where she was taken. _

_He was left with his arm outstretched. _

_She was gone._

_Somewhere a clock was ticking. A window was golden with the setting sun. _

_Lying in a bed in the infirmary, a tall figure watched over her as she slept. _

_Amano."_

Hitomi lowered the book with a quiet sigh. "End of the chapter."

"So… uhh… I'm a little confused," Van said with a frown tapping a finger on his chin. "She came back after just wishing hard enough?"

"Power of wishes, I suppose."

"So she could have done that anytime?"

"Maybe?" Hitomi shrugged.

Van leaned back with a sigh. "You know, I side with the king a lot-"

"_A lot?_" she interrupted with a smirk. "You side with him on everything."

"Because I can understand where he's coming from. This whole scene where his voice is telling her he's protecting her. I get why she's upset, but I also understand his feelings."

"Do explain then, Fanel the Wise," she grinned cheekily.

He gave her a lopsided grin and rubbed his forehead thoughtfully. "Well, for starters, he's already got a vendetta with Zaibach because of Fanelia, then the whole thing with his brother has already been proven to be screwing with his head, and then Knight telling him he's marrying his chick… He's got frustrations. He's got problems. And what's the best way to relieve that frustration? Punching something in the damn face!"

She giggled lightly.

He continued, spurred on. "Of course he was enjoying it. This was something he could control. His world is falling apart, but on the battlefield, he was the one pulling the strings. Everyone recognized _him_ in the battle. He was the center of the driving force that probably saved lives in that Hold. Exactly how many Zaibach Guymelefs did he destroy on his own?"

She turned back three pages and silently counted. "At least ten or eleven, I think."

"And there's my point." Van nodded confidently. "The guy's gotten hit at every turn. From his country to his broken nut-job brother to his crappy love life. The girl wonders why he isn't some cheery ball of happiness and then she blames him for enjoying something he can take care of with his own two hands. Something that fulfills that need inside to be important."

"But he was doing it to protect her, too. Remember her hearing his voice."

"It's the same thing. He couldn't protect his country, so now he has turned to the only thing he has left: her. He's gotta protect her now. Destroying your enemy one by one sounds like a good way to protect somebody. Why not work off a little stress while doing so?"

"So you think he's in the right to kill-"

"I know you have a problem with that, but-"

"No, no, you misunderstood me. He has the right to kill those men. He was in battle with Zaibach. What I was going to say is you think he's in the right to kill because he's stressed? To lash out at someone because his world is falling apart?"

"He wasn't lashing out though."

"In a way, he has been," she said. "Throughout the book, he's ignored her suggestions, recklessly does what he wants, and now that she's rejected his feelings " – Van's eyes turned to stare at the quilt as a slight pang hit his heart – "he keeps storming off every chance he's got. Is this how a normal person should handle stress?"

"Now you're taking it too far. I was just saying that he feels like he's in control in the battlefield."

"Well, life isn't always a battlefield," she said, her voice raising slightly. "There isn't a swordfight you can just jump into as soon as something goes wrong. Sometimes you just gotta face it! No face punching! No robot slicing! Sometimes life just kicks you hard and you gotta stand there and take the hits!"

"That or flick off Knight as you steal your girl back," he joked.

"I'm serious, Van-" her mouth opened and she shut it with a snap. She had a sudden temptation to tell him. To tell him everything.

That Allen was part of the reason he was in this hospital bed. That sitting here with her like this was endangering his life further.

That she loved him so much it hurt inside.

Sometimes you gotta stand there and take it, her words repeated back to her.

Or in this case… give it up…

"Do you have time to keep going?"

She blinked out of her thoughts and smiled. "Of course."

"_Her eyes were tired, but she made them open anyways. The room was a bright orange with sunset. Merle let her sleep all day?_

_A familiar face looked down at her gently. _

'_Knight?' she whispered._

'_Hey, you're awake!' Amano smiled in relief. _

'_Amano!?' she jumped up in surprise._

'_No, no, you should stay in bed,' he stopped her. _

_Am I… am I dreaming? She blinked. Or… have I really come back? _

_She had. The world around her was much the same as before she left. Outside her window, the girl's track team were packing up their equipment. She glanced down and she was dressed in her old gym clothes. _

'_I really am back…' she whispered out loud._

'_Back?' Amano asked still smiling. _

'_Amano, I had the craziest dream or vision or… I don't know…'_

_He sat on the bed beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. 'What was it about?'_

_Meanwhile in the girl's locker room, her best friend was filling out the chart for the practice records. Being team manager had its perks, but it did require a lot of overtime work. Her pencil stopped as she remembered Amano running in after the girl had fainted on the track._

'_I'm so thirsty,' a schoolmate wined behind her. _

'_Wanna go someplace?' another piped up._

'_Hey! You wanna go for some tea?' she felt a hand hit her shoulder. _

'_Sorry, guys, but I have to straighten up these stats. I'll go home later with-' _

'_You shouldn't bother Amano and her!' one of them giggled. _

'_Yeah, you shouldn't!'_

_She stood and flicked her auburn hair over her shoulder. 'That's okay,' she put her hands haughtily on her hips. 'I'm going to butt in!'_

'_You sure are mean!' they giggled together heading out the door. 'See you tomorrow.'_

'_Yeah…' she sighed, sitting down on the desk. Her eyes turned to the chart she was working on and they filled themselves with one name…_

'_Amano, it was like it was real,' the girl explained. _

'_A planet called Gaea? A place where you could see the Earth and Moon in the sky? E-Escaflowne? Oh, you are such a romantic,' he sighed. 'I'd like to have a dream like that.' His eyes glanced down to her necklace. 'Hey, that's a really nice pendant.'_

'_Yeah!' she smiled lifting the chain over her head. 'It's my good luck charm! It used to be my grandma's. It's kind of neat actually. When you swing it back and forth it keeps perfect time. It always completes one cycle a second, never slowing down.' She showed him._

'_Wow!' he looked impressed. 'Can I try it?'_

_A flash of before. This had happened… this had happened and he'd taken it from her to swing with the clock. She watched as he took the necklace and he turned to watch the clock. He counted as it swung._

_Just like before…_

_And just like before…_

_Amano stopped the pendant abruptly at count sixteen. 'I-I' his shoulders rose up nervously. He glanced back at her and she had a sharp vision of Knight. 'The truth is…' he moved to lean over her bed. 'I-'_

_She backed away as his head came closer. _

_The door opened and here came her best friend. The girl, instead of being surprised – considering she already knew this was going to happen – watched her friend's face fall and her eyes drift to the floor. They walked home together as always, but the girl felt an air of awkwardness between them this time around. Before, she hadn't seen that look in her friend's eyes. _

'_Well, guess I interrupted something…' she joked hurrying ahead._

'_Oh, come on! It's not what you think!'_

'_Well, I might just forget what I think…But it's going to cost you. It's going to cost you pretty big. Let's say that piece of cheesecake you have in your lunch and then a different dessert for the next say… week or so!' she turned around to shoot her a wink._

'_Huh?' the girl blinked. Another repeated moment. It was all the same as before… just like that fateful day…_

'_I know!' her friend continued. 'A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! You know what they say, 'All's fair in love and war'!' _

_She walked in silence, listening to the same chatter._

_Why was it all the same?_

'_Hey, what's wrong?' her friend stopped her as they climbed down the stairs. 'You don't look so good.' _

'_Oh-oh, ahh, really?' she blushed._

'_Or do you know about…?' seeing the girl's curious face, her friend turned away, 'Oh, never mind! Let's go!'_

_She watched her friend's back as she rushed down the rest of the stairs. That look in her eyes. The girl knew that look. It was… heartbreak. Fear. Sadness. All covered up with a mature cheerfulness. It reminded her of Princess and Merchant. A settle for the inevitable. _

'_Hey, have you ever done a tarot card reading about Amano?'_

'_No,' she answered shyly._

'_How come?'_

'_Well, I'm afraid that the cards will tell me that he doesn't like me. Come on, what's the matter?' she stepped forward to grab her friend's arm. _

'_If you like him… if you like him then I really think you should tell him about it. The thing is… I just heard…' she took a deep breath and turned to the girl. 'Look, I just accidentally overheard some of the upperclassmen talking. They were saying that… Amano was leaving the country. His father's got to go to England. He's not even going to be at the prefectural track meet. You know that you are my best friend and I know how you feel…' she wrapped her arms around the girl. She was trembling. 'I know how you feel about him… so you should tell him. You'll regret it if you don't.'_

_Her friend gave a solemn wave as they passed by her house. The girl passed her street and kept walking. She had to clear her head. She knew that her friend loved Amano. She probably loved him more than she ever could. And yet she was giving up her love. Her stomach twisted as she waited at the train station. A twist of nervousness and fear and panic. It was the same feeling Knight used to give her. She was torn. Torn between her emotions. _

_Turning she looked at her reflection in the dark window. Her green eyes stared back, troubled. A whisper brushed past her right ear and she gasped lightly. Glancing down at the seat beside her, a white feather innocently rested on the cushion. She blinked in surprise. Reaching down, she had barely touched the feather when it suddenly vanished from sight. _

_A vision of dark hair, white wings, and sharp mahogany eyes flashed through her mind. _

_Back at Palas, Princess let out a light gasp. 'She disappeared?'_

'_Damn it, I just don't get what's going on around here…' Merchant mumbled ruffling the back of his hair in frustration. _

_Her hand flew to her chest. 'Tell me that Zaibach-'_

'_It's not possible…' Stratego announced, his face looking out to the large window in front of them. 'Even with the power of the Emperor's science, it's not possible to create a pillar of light.' He turned to give his brother a stare._

'_But… where did she go then?' Princess asked._

'_She went home,' the king murmured, breaking his gaze on his older brother to stare at the floor. 'She said she wanted to go back to the Mystic Moon, so she-she left.' He glanced up, the optimism not quite reaching his eyes, 'But of course, this is really good news for us. Zaibach can't use their Fate Alteration Engine now.' _

'_Commander!' Gadeth pounded the door open. 'The Zaibach army! They've set up a perimeter around our borders!'_

_It was a startling amount of floating fortresses. They hung in the blanketed night sky like ominous clouds. _

_The Four Demon Armies had gathered together. _

_Back in Zaibach, the king's prediction was correct. 'It's no use! We can't pick up the girl's signal, Majesty!' one of the sorcerers called out. _

'_The unknown element… why can't my dreams come true…?' Scientist whispered angrily. The Engine was an unhealthy red color, the gears barely moving at all. _

_Meanwhile in Palas, a pillar of light hit the back gardens of the castle. A thin figure emerged, barefoot and quiet. Stumbling slightly, she reached up to brush the short blond curls out of her blue eyes. She was cold, but not uncomfortably so. It had been hot before in that metal thing, but now the dried sweat had chilled her slightly. She walked further, her arms tossing lazily by her side. _

_Suddenly, she stopped and a smile crossed her lips. _

_It was a lit up house._

'_Father, I was ready to protect her…protect her forever…' Knight murmured under his breath. Sitting at the desk his father used to, he took another sip of his wine and closed his eyes. 'But then she left. In only a second, she was gone. For some reason I cannot explain, my heart is surprisingly calm. I mean, I miss her, of course, I miss her now that she's left Gaea, but I'm also happy for her. Happy that she's managed to return to her own world and family. Perhaps…' he sighed finally admitting the truth. 'Perhaps it was because I saw my little sister in her.' He looked up at the empty chair in front of him and the shadows played with his eyes. It was like a ghostly silhouette was sitting here with him listening to his thoughts and feelings._

'_If that you, father?' he asked gently. But then the door opened to the office and Knight gasped. _

_A broken skinny thing, her head was tilted slightly in confusion. She looked back at her brother._

'_No, it can't be… sister…'_

_Back on the Mystic Moon, the girl heard her mother's familiar call tell her the bath was ready. She laid on her bed though, her arms folded over her chest. This was when she did the tarot card reading for Amano. _

_This was where it all began. _

'_Oh my poor friend…' she whispered, her green eyes tossing over to a picture. It was the three of them just after track tryouts. She had never noticed back then, but her friend's eyes were slid to the right… slid over on Amano's smiling face. 'I never realized until now that you had such strong feelings for him.' She groaned as she sat up, still looking at the picture. 'I thought I was serious about him.'_

_The wind blew from her open window and her tarot cards were disturbed by the wind. She gasped as one card in particular flicked in the air and came gliding up to her. _

_The tower. _

_The very card she'd gotten before. _

'_That's strange. Why did this card-' Her vision flashed of a blood-orange sky. A large white Guymelef stood with his sword raised high. His red cape bellowed out over his shoulders. _

'_E-Escaflowne…'_

_She looked back at the cards and her pendant began to glow. Standing up, she walked over to her desk. The reading she did… the tower… separation… her hand shook, but she pushed her fingers to turn over the next card. _

_The dragon._

'_Why… please, not again… I don't want to go back to that again… I don't want to go back…' a tear slipped down her eye as the dragon seemed to twist in his own card. And then she saw him looking back at her. His eyes sad. So sad. As he disappeared, his hand rose to reach her. On reflex, her fingers brushed over the card to touch him._

_But he was gone. _

_His mind was on her. Always on her. _

_He laid on the rooftop of the windmill, his eyes staring at the Mystic Moon. 'Earth', she had called it. Her home. He wondered if she was happy back home. Of course, she was. She had left because she couldn't stand this world anymore. Couldn't stand him anymore. He took a deep breath, his hand slowly rising in the air to her. Then he snorted to himself and lowered his arm. What a fool he must look like. But… his eyes continued their unblinking stare. _

'_My Lord?' a familiar chirp came from behind him. Sitting up, he saw Merle's curious face peaking over the side of the roof._

'_Oh, hey, Merle,' he greeted softly. _

_The ever-aware Merle caught the miserable look in his eye. 'Please tell me, my lord. What's the matter? You don't seem like yourself.'_

'_It's nothing,' he lowered his face to glance at the ground below. _

'_You're thinking about her, aren't you?'_

_His breath caught slightly in his throat, but he shook his head, 'No, no, I'm not.'_

'_That's a lie!' she cried. _

_He lowered his head further. _

'_I've always been by your side, my lord. I know you better than anyone. You're thinking about her.' There was a pause in her voice, as if she didn't want to say the words out loud. 'You love her…'_

_He couldn't deny it, but he didn't want it to be true. He gasped as her arms wrapped around his shoulders. 'You haven't figured out how you really feel, have you? To be honest, I've known for a very long time. She always said that thing, right? That people return your feelings…' she was obviously holding back tears as she said, 'What you feel will reach her. I know she feels the same.'"_

"King." Van said simply, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

Hitomi was quiet for a moment looking at him. Van, his long black hair and cheerful warm eyes. His lopsided smile and his cheeky personality. He understood the king probably a lot better than the author herself. To create a character so real, so alive. His problems, his personal struggles matched Van in such a way that the story almost tailored to him.

Maybe… it was destiny she'd picked up this book to read to him. Maybe it was destiny that she'd been given him as a patient and her his nurse.

Maybe it was destiny that they sat together like this, smiling at each other even though an unknown future lay before them.

"King." She agreed."Looks like I owe you dinner."

"How about I get this one and we can rain-check on the steak?" he suggested, his tan skin actually hitting a pink tinge.

Hitomi blinked quickly, feeling her heart jump. "Are you-are you asking me out?" she said in a tight voice.

He laughed quietly, such a warm sound. "Unless you want to eat frozen corndogs instead."

She blushed heavily, her right hand starting to fiddle with the pages. "I-I-I-"

"Finish the chapter, Hitomi," he smoothly instructed.

"_The graveyard was orange in the light of the setting sun. Old withered flowers of 'forget-me-nots' laid on the small gravestone of his father. He'd taken her here, but she didn't seem to understand. Whatever had happened to his sister had kept her in a childlike state. A butterfly flittered over her shoulder and her innocent blue eyes rose to meet it. _

'_Are you certain she's your sister?' Eris asked quietly._

'_Yes,' Knight replied gently. 'It's been years, but I'd recognize her anywhere.' They watched the young woman with sad eyes. 'My poor little sister…She doesn't remember where she's been all this time.'_

'_She's lost her memory?'_

_Knight closed his eyes, almost like he was unable to watch the simple girl in front of him. 'Princess Eris, please watch over my little sister while I'm gone. I can only trust you. Please, tell me that you understand.'_

'_Very well. She is a sister of a Soldier of Caeli. I'll take care of her at the Palace.'_

_While they were talking, the short-haired woman gave a strangled grin, her head tilted slightly. Reaching up, she snatched the butterfly out of the air and crushed it with her fingers. She smiled as the broken wings flew away on the breeze. And then something seemed to stir inside of her. Something dark and terribly strong._

_She gave a terrible cry, erupting in both laughter and tears. Her voice broke, her body mutated. Her shoulders expanded, her hips narrowed. She placed her hands over her face as her laughter seemed to lower. _

'_Sister!' Knight rushed forward but backed away as she stood. _

'_Sister?' the shadow of a woman's voice was held in his throat. The blond curls had straightened into silver wisps. Turning, he snarled, 'Where am I? What am I doing here?'_

_Knight held a hand out as if to steady himself. 'Wait-' _

_He screamed, his hands clutching his head. _

'_Wait, are you a doppelganger?!'_

'_JAJUKA!' he bellowed, the name tearing out of his throat. 'JAJUKA! JAJUKA!' _

_To answer his screams, the entire right side of Knight shimmered dangerously. A stealth cloak! Immediately jumping into defense, he shoved the princess behind him and whipped out his sword. A giant Zaibach Guymelef swiveled into view and instantly knelt before the terrified boy._

'_I'm here!' The canine's voice rang from the mecha. 'Lord Dilandau, I'm here!'_

'_Jajuka!' the boy's eyes glimmered with relief. _

'_Dilandau…' Knight hissed, unable to believe his eyes. He watched shocked frozen as the boy climbed into the Guymelef's hand and it disappeared. And then he realized as the Stealth Cloak was activated and it took off into the sky. _

'_My-My sister… is Dilandau…'_

_He was in the study, his sharp eyes glossing over the many titles. Knight could think of no other person to ask. _

_Stratego sighed, his hand resting on the back of the chair. Knight's face was twisted into a grimace. 'Dilandau…? I'm sorry, I don't know much about Dilandau's past. It seems certain that the sorcerers are behind it though.'_

'_The sorcerers?' Knight asked in a broken voice. _

'_Zaibach scientists that answer only to the Emperor. They are a very dangerous group of men. Rumor has it that in order to change a person's fate, they held experiments on live subjects. They used mostly children.'_

'_You mean my sister was…' Knight couldn't finish his sentence. Princess and Merchant were silent as the realization set in. _

'_They experimented on… people…'"_

"Sooo… that's a thing…" Van said with a raised eyebrow. "Dilandau was actually Knight's missing sister. Weird plot twist."

"Poor girl…" she sighed.

"I have one question though. I understand why Zaibach would experiment on children, but why did they have to give her a penis?"

The nurse blushed deeply and stuttered in surprise.

"M-Maybe it was a result of an experiment or something."

"So Zaibach just has a spare penis' lying around and are like, 'hey, you know who doesn't have a penis? This girl. Let's strap it on and see what happens,'?"

"You are so crude!" her face was red as a tomato. "Spare p-penis… what the crap…"

He snorted a laugh at her shocked face. She was too easy to tease.

His laughter died awkwardly in his throat.

"_Her days were simpler, easier. She walked to school, ate lunch with her friends, and spent her days studying. Just like it used to be. Just like it should be. Sitting at her desk, she casually listened to the teacher's monologue about universal gravitation. The Scientist who discovered gravitational pull also was interested in the study of alchemy and chemical components. She glance up just in time to see her teacher toss an apple into the air. The girl blinked and her vision clicked to a blackened sky. Two moons, a pair of bright mahogany eyes staring. The vision was whisked away almost as soon as it appeared. _

_But then…_

_A large, beautiful, white feather floated past her nose. She watched it gently glide onto her notebook. Reaching up to touch the feather, it disappeared as soon as her fingertips grazed its soft vein. Another brisk image of two moons hit her and she saw him with his hand raised. _

_Extending. Trying desperately to reach her… _

_She knew now. She knew why she was seeing those feathers. Why she was seeing him…_

'_He's calling…' she whispered. _

_Deep in Zaibach, the sorcerers had gathered. 'Your Majesty, the preparations are now complete. If we separate the gravity between the girl and the dragon, we believe it is possible to generate elemental fate particles.'_

'_Yes, gravity is at work. The girl will appear on Gaea once again.'_

_She stood in the locker room dressed in her track uniform. In her hand, the pendant glowed lightly. The pendant she'd used long ago to count her record. The record that if she'd beat, she would have gotten her first kiss. _

_The same pendant that had called forth the king to her side. _

_The door burst open behind her and her best friend came running in. _

'_What are you doing!? Amano is going to leave if you don't hurry up!'_

_The girl closed her fingers on the necklace and sighed. 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,' she whispered. _

'_Huh?' her friend looked confused. 'Sorry?'_

'_You're my best friend and I didn't notice it. I never noticed your feelings for him. But… but I have to go now. I… I have someone waiting for me. And it's him I want to see. If fact,' she grabbed her friend's shoulders tightly. 'I have to see him! I'm sorry about all of this! I hope you can forgive me! I have to go now!' Hugging her swiftly, she let her go and ran out the door. _

_Her friend just stood shocked. _

'_See who…?' she blinked._

_He couldn't stand it anymore. _

_Merle had left for the castle, leaving him once again to his thoughts. 'What you feel will reach her. I know she feels the same…' her kind voice repeated. It was surprising how hard those words had hit him. They had struck a strangely painful cord inside him. He turned on his side on the rooftop. The shine of the Mystic Moon illuminated the world around him. 'You haven't figured out how you really feel…' _

_He lowered his head further. He tried to keep his eyes from looking at the sky. How many times had he found himself reaching out to it, he'd lost count. He should just give up. She was happy where she was. _

_She was home._

'_You're thinking about her…' The king groaned and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. _

'_You love her…'_

'_Damn it…' he cursed opening his eyes back to the moons. _

_Then he felt it like a jolt of lightning. Sitting up swiftly, his eyes widened. His vision wavered and he saw her. She was staring at the pendant, her lips downcast in thought. Suddenly, she looked up, her green eyes staring straight at him. Her fist closed over the pendant and he knew she saw him, too. Her hand reached out and his immediately stretched for hers. _

_She disappeared – fading back to the two moons. _

_His heart was beating wildly in his chest. His arm still extended for her hand._

_She was calling him._

_The king leapt from the rooftop, landing inside the mill. Jumping into the control chamber, he charged the Escaflowne out of the windmill and instantly tossed it into Dragon Frame. Glancing back up before taking off, he saw the moon shimmer. _

_She was there. _

_And he was coming to get her._

_Lifting the dragon up, he soared through the sky, straight at the moon itself. Her face was all he could see._

'_Element fate particles at critical!' A sorcerer cried. 'Now activating!' _

_The brilliant light of the Fate Alteration Engine rained on the old man as he lowered his eye to the telescope once more. _

_He flew faster, igniting the jets. He had to make it. He saw her once more, reaching from the moon. The winds were pulling at him and he spun several times to gain control of the gears. Pushing even faster._

'_I know now… I know what I want…' he whispered into the wind. 'I want to see you again. I want you.'_

_She repeated her life. Catching up to Amano, she asked him to time her race with the swings of her necklace. Taking a huge breath, she ironically asked for her first kiss with a bitter-sweet smile on her lips. Just like before, he gently agreed, his fingers grasping over the pink stone. Her fingers shook as she readied herself. Wishing, hoping that he could hear her. _

_This is the only way I know how to bring you back, she thought walking to the starting line. She got into her track position and her heart beat hard in her chest. _

'_Are you ready to go?' Amano called._

_She released a deep breath. 'Yes, ready when you are!'_

_She jumped as the lights suddenly turned on. Her friend stood at the chain link fence, waving with an encouraging smile. _

'_Ready!'_

_She lifted her head, his mahogany eyes the only thing she could see. 'Now focus everything…' she murmured._

'_GO!'_

_The Fate Alteration Engine gave a strangled hiss. _

_He rose even higher._

_She leapt from the starter and pushed her legs as hard as they could go. _

_Both their thoughts and wishes the same. _

_Both slowly reconnecting in this wide separation. _

_She ran, he flew. _

_The pendant glowed. _

_The wish was heard._

_And it was granted._

_Sparks flew from the Engine and hit several of the sorcerers standing nearby. Lightning shivered through the machine, igniting it at full maximum. _

'_Yeeees!' The Scientist grinned. _

_The Escaflowne tossed once more in the air and streaked into a beam of light shooting straight for the Mystic Moon. Amano counted each second, the pendant's glow invisible to his eyes. But he couldn't ignore the raining pillar of light that shot down in the middle of the race track. She gasped. _

_Unlike before, he had come down with the purpose of fighting a dragon. But now his purpose was different. He came for her, the dragon conquered. He flapped once, twice – throwing Amano off-balance and landed right before her eyes. _

_He turned to her, letting go of his controls and opening his arms for her. She ran harder than ever, a brilliant smile spreading on her face. There he was, the king, his face alighted with joy as he called to her._

'_Come to me! Here! Take my hand!'_

_Her fingers clasped around his palm and he pulled her easily into the cock-pit. Her arms wrapped around him tightly. Pressing her forehead against the side of his neck tenderly, he blushed and reached up with a timid hand to stroke her hair. 'I've got you,' he said to her, his hand sliding down to cradle her back. 'I-I'll never let you…' _

'_Don't let me go…' she finished for him. 'Don't ever let me go.'_

_The pillar of light began to recede and he grabbed his right controller – his left hand unable to stop holding her close. They slowly rose into the sky, still embracing. Amano ran up and stood under the light._

'_No!' he cried, his hand reaching for her. _

_The pendant slipped off his fingers and disappeared with the beam of light. It vanished in the twinkling night._

_Back on Gaea, the pillar shot down and the king had to let her go to control their descent. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he felt her hug him tightly. As they landed, he smiled back at her. 'No doubt about it,' he said. 'This is Gaea.' They both looked up at the two moons together. _

_The sky had just started to turn a slight pink with the coming of dawn. Looking back around them, her fingers clutched his shirt and he recoiled in horror. A massacre stood before them. Broken bleeding bodies, Guymelef wreckage._

'_What's happened!?' he murmured with eyes wide. _

_She held the pendant close. _

_She had returned to Gaea. To a world at war."_

Hitomi turned back to the list of chapters at the front of the book. "We're almost done with this."

"How many more chapters?" he asked.

"Two."

"Oh."

"I guess that's a good thing considering you're getting discharged soon." She shrugged with a strained smile. "We can finish the book just in time hopefully."

"Hopefully…" he repeated.

The silence that fell between them was almost too much for him to bear. He couldn't stand it any longer; this dodging look in her eye and this pained expression that crossed her features.

"Look, Hitomi, about what I said before – about how I feel-"

"Whatever you were going to say actually needs to wait." She interrupted quickly and looked at her watch. She stood from the chair. "It's time for me to go."

"I just want to tell you-"

"I really need to head back, Van."

"You can wait a couple of minutes, right?"

"I am pretty late."

Van sighed with a swirl of frustration. "Alright, fine. Just go then."

She lifted a hand to wave and he refused to meet her eye, opting instead to stare at the tile floor.

"See you tomorrow, Van."

The door shut.

His heart hurt. His head hurt.

What the hell happened? He had been certain of Hitomi's feelings for him. He'd been certain she'd at least cared for him. It didn't have to be love. It could have been a great friendship. Something happened since a few days ago.

And Van had no idea how to fix it.

* * *

"What do you want?" the golden twin leaned against the door with her hand on her hip. She was the spitting image of her silver sister.

"Close the door," Folken commanded lowly.

"No point. You know there are cameras in here, right? They watched you fuck my sister." Her eyebrows rose a fraction.

"Does it bother you I was with her?"

"Not especially," she shrugged. "She always had a thing for shitheads."

"I want to give this to you." Folken stood up and fished out the envelope from his pocket. "It's important."

"Important?" she said slowly. "Am I getting a golden ticket for the Wonka Factory or something?"

"Something even better."

"Oh, yeah, what's that?"

Folken smirked. "You'll see."

* * *

Allen had called. She had turned her phone off when she read to Van.

She didn't want to see him. She didn't want to see anybody. All she wanted was to go back to her simple life of blood pressure checks and changing sheets and assisting in making people better. She lived to make people better. It was what she was good at. Helping, holding hands, taking care of the pain.

But she was causing pain. And seeing the look of rejection in Van's eyes hurt her far worse.

Her lies, her betrayal.

Her eyes switched back to the silent phone.

But there was a way.

A possible way to fix this.

* * *

Folken was waiting for her at the _Scherazade Club_. He sipped his drink and avoided the eye of a little girl down the bar.

And here she came.

Like a siren, all eyes fell on her. Dressed in a black mini-shirt and revealing top, she tilted her head and let her long curly golden hair cascade over her shoulder. She came up to him and Folken saw the little girl's mouth open in shock and looked away quickly.

"I read it," she said simply through the pounding music.

"And?"

Her lips curled into a feral smile.

"I'm in."

"You can handle it?"

Her amber eyes sparked. "You know that bastard shot her face off, right? I heard it was seven bullets." She made a gun with her fingers and put it to her forehead. "I don't care if this is suicide. I don't care about anything anymore really. But my question is: will _he _be willing to join you. You did try to kill him twice. Lucky for us he's a resilient bastard and he hasn't been seen as a threat since he's been in the hospital. I think the company has even forgotten about the execution order."

"That's good. The more they don't notice him, the safer he is. And with him on our side, we can move up in the plans."

"Such faith…" she rolled her eyes. "What makes you think he's going to join us? Does he even have the talent?"

"That worm was his," Folken said. "Allen is still fighting against something he made years ago."

"The worm that killed my sister," the woman hissed. "They blamed her for it entering the system. They blamed her for not finding it soon enough! They still don't know how much information was stolen."

"Van did it as a precaution, I know it. He already had it tied to his files whenever you sister first tapped into them." Folken shook his head. "The one that killed your sister was the company, not Van. Allen killed your sister."

"But I burned his shit to the ground. How the hell did he hide it in the files? How the hell did it even transfer the information without us noticing?"

"Van's a genius," a toss of pride fell over Folken's expression, but was gone in a second. "He's probably got a secret database hidden somewhere."

"Secret database? Sounds damn stupid if you ask me."

His eyes tightened and Folken grabbed her arm hard. She winced in pain, but held her eyes straight on his. "Never say that ever again. He's the only one who can help us. The only one with the systems and the know-how to take them out permanently."

"And you just _know_ this?" She shook his hand off of her with a glare.

"I have faith in him."

"So, how do you plan on seducing your brother to our side? It's not like he's going to be ready for a family reunion. He might even try to kill you when he sees you."

"It doesn't matter if he kills me. I've already made up my mind that I'm dead anyways. All I want is to do something right for once in my god-damn life."

"Well, aren't you the little angel? Turn around and I bet you have a pair of black wings somewhere on that back..."

"My only concern is for him to stay under the radar for now. No one at the company knows it was his worm except for you and me."

"You do know Allen is still working the case, right? He's got an 'in'? He probably has a list of suspected people and is narrowing it down as we speak. He's not going to be under the radar for long. Your brother will be dead, if he isn't already."

"We have to work fast then."

Flicking her fingers down her blouse, she pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. Igniting the end, she blew out smoke and smirked. "Good. The sooner we get started, the sooner I can burn them to hell. She said to keep my matches on hand, right?" she licked her lips seductively. "So, let the flames begin..."

* * *

"You called!" His voice was cheerful. "This actually is the perfect time! I was just thinking about you!"

"Hi, Allen, actually there's something I want to tell you," she said softly. Glancing from the doorway of the break room, her green eyes focused on Van's bedroom curtains.

"And I want to ask you something! Could we meet up for an early breakfast?"

"You sure are happy for it being so early in the morning. What are you up to?"

"Just out and about."

"Did you find anything else about the case you were working on?" She asked with a smile in her voice.

Keep it cheerful, keep it light.

"I did, actually. I found out it entered the system about two months back. Still can't trace where it's taken the files though. Hey, I was wondering if I could stop by the hospital! That way I can pick you up!"

"No!" she shouted and winced. She glanced back to Van's door and sighed. "No, I'll meet you somewhere."

"If you say so, but I was thinking earlier that I'd like to meet some of your patients sometime."

"Oh, why is that?" her voice hitched and her heart jumped in her throat. She tried to keep her voice calm.

"You work there all the time, you probably know some of them pretty well. I'd like to get to know the workaholic Hitomi, not just the beautiful one I'm dating." His voice was dripping with honey. She swallowed in a tightened throat. "I bet there's a few there that absolutely love you."

"Actually, there are really strict protocols, Allen. You shouldn't just barge in how you please. This is a workplace establishment and rules must be-"

He laughed charmingly. "Keep your silly rules then, Super-Nurse. I just was wanting to see more of you. So, are we on for breakfast?"

* * *

Dryden came in the next morning, his eyes sleepy. "Sup, Fanel," he waved to him and came to sit in the chair. "Got a minute?"

"Yeah," Van said, turning off the TV and sitting up in bed. "What's up, doc?"

"There's a guest wanting to see you. Also, there's the thing I mentioned yesterday."

"Wait, wait, and hold up, a _guest_?" Van blanched. "Who the hell wants to see me?"

"He seems like a really weird guy, but he said he was your brother."

Van instantly sat up straight, his mahogany eyes wide. "M-My brother…"

"What? You two have a thing?"

_Folken_… why would Folken dare come in here to see him? In the middle of daylight… in the middle of everyone… So many witnesses… what was his game?

"Yeah… we have a _thing_…" Van replied darkly. Dryden's eyebrows rose and he held his hands in surrender. "Dude, just say the word and I'll have him escorted out. He's got a hottie with him though."

"A hottie?"

"They can wait though. There's the issue about your discharge date. We were looking at your charts and it looks like you can leave sometime this week if you continue improving like you are-"

"Dryden… can we talk about that later? Can you send my brother in?" Van said softly bending his head to hide his eyes behind his long fringe.

Dryden's brown eyes fell slightly. "Sure, man. Whatever you say. I'll come back in an hour or two."

"Thanks."

* * *

They stood together, an odd pairing. His tall silhouette towering over her petite form. The stark white hospital seemed to contrast them further. She crossed her arms underneath her chest and glared at everyone who walked by.

"He said he'd see you, but the bodyguard needs to be in the room at the same time." The brown-haired doctor announced before moving closer to the golden woman, a lopsided grin stretching on his lips. "Unless you want to hang out with me for a while."

"No," she said without blinking an eye.

"We need to see him without the bodyguard," Folken said.

"I'm sorry, man, them's the rules."

Folken gave her a sharp look and she took the hint. "How's about you let us speak to his brother in private and then I can do something private for you as a favor...?" she purred, her finger reaching up to tuck Dryden's brown locks behind his left ear. "I promise it will be a real quick, but reeeeeal satisfying..."

'Uh-Uh-hem," he choked. "I'm-I'm actually in the process of..."

"Let them in," Van's voice came from the doorway. He was sitting in the wheelchair, his mahogany eyes burning.

"I wanna see what they have to say."

* * *

**And I had to end it there. I hated that it's shorter than the rest of the chapters, but this is getting into heavy plot and I want to make sure everything is correct. It might be another day or so before the last chapter is out just because I want it perfect.  
**

**Questions, comments, concerns, debates on what will happen next? Let me know! :D**

**Regardless, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. It has been a thrill writing this and I'm so glad/sad that it's almost over.**

**Thanks again for all the love! You guys are the best!**

**Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Looks like this is moving on to celebrate President's Day as well! lol!**

**Love to all!**

**blue...**


	8. Chapter 8: Van and the White Dragon

**I'm alive and I'm back and I just finished this story! AHHHH! This was so crazy! People, it has been an INSANE year. I meant to have this done back in friggin' February! But noooo, my life had to sky-rocket into madness and everything had to be put on hold for waaaay too long. But guess what? Now I'm married and I don't have any more stinkin' planning and distractions! I have full and utter freedom of writing time! **

**Well, let's wrap this adventure up, shall we?**

* * *

The door shut and a ringing silence followed. The woman crossed the room to shove open his window roughly. Leaping up like a lioness, she perched daintily on the window sill and slipped a cigarette out of her top. Dodging his eyes away, Van rolled his wheelchair to his sink and grabbed a plastic cup.

"Beverage?" he asked.

He filled the little cup with tap water and drained it in one gulp.

"No," Folken's low voice gruffly replied.

"Going to kill me?"

"I'm not here to hurt you, Van."

"You're not here to hurt me…" Van repeated slowly, his eyes biting in a hard stare. "Well, that is a damn relief because, as you can see, I'm not quite capable of holding my own in a fight as of right now. Thanks to you, I might add."

"I was under orders at the time."

"To kill _me_," Van added darkly. "Almost succeeded, too."

"You shouldn't have investigated. You knew what was happening."

Van refilled his cup, his hand trembling. Tossing the water down his throat, he closed his eyes as his anger rose sharply. "_I_ shouldn't have investigated… _I _shouldn't have tried to save my company. _I _shouldn't have attempted to fight back. I, I, I, you make it sound like it's my own damn fault for you shooting me in the head."

"It was never about you, Van."

"That's right, you piece of shit!" Van snarled throwing his cup to the ground. "It's always been about _you! _You think I didn't investigate the company when they tore my life to shreds? I read your records right before you pegged me! You are a murdering son-of-a-bitch and you liked it. You liked it a _lot_. Your paycheck was enough to make sure you'd do it again, and again." He rolled his chair a little closer, his heart beating hard with rage and resentment. "The execution orders came for _me_. Your _brother_. Well, I survived it, asshole. I'm still here. Looks like you aren't as good as you once were. And you shot me right in time, too. Another few days more and I would have completely obliterated everything in your precious company!"

"That is why I am here. I know you have information. I know you can take them down. I need your help."

"Fuck your help!"

"I want to destroy the company. You can do that."

"Turning on them as well!? Just like you turned on me?" Van snarled.

Folken remained silent. The two identical mahogany eyes were connected, unwavering in this stand-off.

"Oh, my _God_, can we stop with the piss party already?" The woman moaned, flicking her cigarette out the window and crossing her arms. "We've come to save your life, you stupid bastard."

Van broke his hard gaze on Folken to say, "And you are?"

She tiled her head and an ominous smirk lifted on her cherry lips. "Hi, I'm the one who burned your company to the ground. Don't get me confused by my dearly departed sister who stole your files that ended up fucking up our systems and scrambling our passwords while stealing all of our information. I'd like an order of that, but about forty billion times stronger, please."

His mouth had fallen open. "What the hell are you-"

"We've come to ask for your help." Folken injected quickly. "Like I said before, we want to take the company down. For good."

Another full minute of silence passed between the trio then Van barked a sharp laugh. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"We have decided to end this once and for all." Folken and the woman caught eyes.

"And you need my help…" Van murmured. "Why the hell do you think I'd help you?"

"You want to destroy the company, right? Wasn't that your 'ultimate goal' or some shit?" The woman asked.

"To help a bunch of murderers…" He said darkly.

The golden woman's eyes flashed dangerously. "You want to talk about murder? That worm you sneaked in got my sister killed."

"Good," Van growled back. "You burned my company to the ground and destroyed my life. Got another sister I can kill? Doesn't feel like we are square yet."

"You bastard-!" She leapt instantly from the window and rushed towards him. Folken stepped forward and grabbed her arm with one hand. Swinging her roughly, he pushed her against the wall and held her struggling body. His hand pressed her face into the blue wall-paper, smearing her lip-stick.

"You will not touch him."

"Let me go, you son-of-a-!"

"We need him."

"He killed my-!"

"She died because of Allen."

"It was because of that worm-!"

"No," his dark voice was calm, yet underlined with a low threat. "She died because the company ordered it to happen. Remember who is really to blame. You will not touch him. We need his help."

Van's stomach had dropped and he wheeled his chair a little closer. "W-What did you say?" he hissed, chills running down his spine.

"We need your help." Folken repeated.

"No… no… the other… _Allen_…" he breathed, his heart colliding into his ribs. "What about _Allen_?"

"A man named Allen was hired to destroy your worm. He killed her sister." Folken answered still holding the volatile woman at bay. "We know he suspects you being the one who holds the files, but we are not certain if he's connected the dots. All we know is he has been investigating and he could be closing in on you as a target."

The blood had drained from Van's face. His hands shook as he ran them through his long locks. "Hitomi… oh, my God… She's… She's been in danger all this time…"

"Hitomi?" The woman growled, finally breaking free from Folken with a scowl.

"She's… she's my nurse here… he's been dating her… she's told me about him, but… I suspected, but…" Van instantly turned on wheel and reached to the nurse's call button. He pressed it repeatedly, his face growing even paler. It was only a few seconds before Yukari's face popped in from the doorway.

"Are you alright, Mr. Fanel?" She asked cautiously, her dark eyes flicking on Folken and the woman.

"Where is Hitomi? Is she in this morning? Can you call her?" His voice cracked as the words spouted from his lips.

"She left at five this morning like usual," she answered with a growing concern. "Why? Is everything okay? You look sick. You should be in bed."

"Do you have her number? Can you call her?"

"I do, but I'm sure she's asleep or something. What's going on, Mr. Fanel?"

"Can you call her cell for me?" he demanded, rolling closer. "Please, I need to talk to her."

"I-I guess…" she blinked. She stepped in further and the door shut behind her. Taking out a smart-phone, she briskly scrolled to her number and lifted it to her face. Van held out his hand for the phone, but she frowned and shook her head. "I'll take care of this, Mr. Fanel."

The room waited as she listened to the rings and then the voice message clicked on. "Hey, Hitomi, it's Yukari. I'm here at the hospital and Mr. Fanel wants to speak to you. If you could call me back when you get this, that'd be swell. Thanks!" She ended the call on a chipper note and looked up to see Van's eyes spilling with panic.

"Are you alright, Mr. Fanel?"

"Yeah," he whispered, his gaze trailing back on his brother and the woman. "Yeah, I'm okay. One more thing: can you go get Doctor Fassa?"

"Sure, what for?"

"Just go get him for me." He said sharply.

"_Fine_," she held her hands up. "As long as you are alright."

The door closed and he turned to face them. He swallowed in his tightening throat. "What else do you know about Allen? Tell me _now_."

Folken answered. "He's a contract agent. The company uses him for their most elusive cases. Your worm not only targeted the company, but also compromised his information as well."

"Who's this _Hitomi_?" the woman asked, her lips lifting into a smirk.

"She's part of my conditions if you want my help," Van said dangerously, his mahogany eyes flashing. "We shouldn't discuss anything else here. It was stupid of you to even come."

Folken took a step closer. "Had to make a bold move for you to believe me."

"I still don't," he growled.

There was a knock on the door and Dryden poked his head inside. "How's it going in here, everybody?" he said cheerfully. Catching the stressed look on each of their faces, his happiness deflated. "You alright, Van?"

"Doc," Van rolled backwards to let the man slip inside. "You wanted to discuss discharge soon?"

Dryden perked up an eyebrow. "Yeah…?"

"I want to leave today. My brother has come to take care of me, isn't that right?" he swung his eyes dangerously on his brother, who gave the doctor a small half-shrug.

The doctor's eyes widened in surprise and Van thought he saw a flash of sadness. "O-Oh, you do? Umm, well, Van, you are mobile in a wheelchair, so the option is available, but considering you are improving so quickly, we just assumed you'd _walk_ out of the hospital."

"I can't stay, Dryden. I'll be back for rehabilitation in the morning, but I need to go ahead and leave the hospital."

"It has to be _today_?"

"Today," Van affirmed.

"_Really?_"

"Really."

"_Seriously_?"

"Very seriously," Van felt the corners of his mouth lift a bit.

"Positiv-"

"Son-of-a-bitch! Will you _shut up_ already?" The woman said exasperated. "Look, we got a tight schedule here, so go get those papers ready or find someone else to do it. We have a private matter to discuss, Doctor whatever-your-name-is. Leave us and do your job!"

The doctor's mouth snapped shut and he turned back to Van. "She's sassy. Is she yours?"

"_Hell_ no," Van shook his head with a disgusted look. "She's right though. We need to get me packed up and out of here within the hour."

"I'm not sure if I can make it that fast-"

"Please, Dryden. This is important." Both Doctor and Patient's eyes connected. In their strangely strong bond they'd built together in such a short amount of time, Dryden could see the desperation behind Van's calm demeanor. It was only for several seconds, but the doctor knew with a sad punch in the gut.

"I'll take care of it..." He strained a smile. "Just make sure you're here tomorrow for rehab. Nine in the morning, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it. I'll stay for Wheel of Fortune, too."

Dryden's smile became genuine as he turned to stroll out the door. It shut behind him and Van turned back to his brother and the woman.

"If this Allen is the one I'm thinking then I have one more condition."

"And that is?" she asked with a hand on her hip.

Van's eyes narrowed sharply.

"You help me kill him."

* * *

Hitomi woke slowly, feeling fogginess in her head and bitterness in her nose and mouth. She tried to lift a hand to her head, but felt a cold, sharp pain holding her wrists behind her back. With that, she was suddenly wide awake.

It was pitch black in the room. Her eyes took longer than usual to adjust. Finally, she made out that she was lying on a sunken sofa with her arms handcuffed to her back. The room was small and solid. No windows. Her heart began to race with panic and adrenaline as she attempted to recap her steps she'd taken. She'd gotten off work at five like usual. She took the east train station towards the little breakfast café that Allen wanted to meet her at. She'd just entered through the door when-

"Oh, no…" she whispered with a horrified drop spreading in her stomach. "I don't remember anything else…" Her green eyes scanned the room vigorously. A bit of light streamed from a door on the left. She hurried towards it and turned awkwardly to check the handle with her bound hands.

Locked.

Suddenly she felt a familiar rectangle in her front pocket – her phone! Allen hadn't thought to take it from her. Struggling, she spun around in circles several times trying to reach awkwardly. Finally, after ten minutes of straining, she dipped a finger into her pocket and the phone slipped out; clattering to the floor.

Even in the darkness, she could see it. Her heart sank. The screen was crushed.

She kicked it in frustration and it skidded underneath the couch.

Scanning around, the sofa was the only piece of furniture except for a large desk against the corner. And on the desk was-

"A computer!" She moved to the desk and lowered to her knees in front of the black screen. Hitomi leaned forward to press a space bar on the keyboard with her chin.

Nothing happened.

Suddenly, she heard a light beeping noise and the door opened. Pillars of ferocious light streamed forth into the dark room. She closed her eyes and turned away as her eyes watered.

"Ahhh, so you're awake," the black silhouette of a tall man stood in the doorway. "And I see you found my little computer. Trying to use it with your hands tied?" He laughed. "I'd like to see you try actually. Plan on pressing 'help' with your little nose?"

"Allen…" she whispered standing up clumsily and backing away.

There was another series of beeps and the blinding white of florescent lights buzzed on immediately; creating spots in her vision. She could see his face now; his lips turned into a kind smile. He was dressed in a black shirt and pants.

And black gloves.

"Surprised? _I'd _be surprised if you were," he leaned against the doorframe and motioned for her to take a seat on the sofa. She stayed where she was; refusing to give even an inch. "I figured you'd seen this coming. You were so adamant about me not visiting your work place, but you still walked right into my hands."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied making her expression one of disbelief. "Why would you knock me out? Tie me up? What is happening? Please! Tell me where I am!"

"Oh, you are such a cutie!" he laughed taking steps closer. She backed away so that her hands and back hit the wall. He came up to her, his warm fingertips touching her jawline. He pressed his body against hers. "What a superior actress! My god, you could be a showstopper! You even had _me _convinced for a while. But I found out, of course. I always find out what I want to know."

"There's nothing-"

"Give me that wide-eyed look!" he grinned sweetly into her face. "Give me those big green eyes rimmed with tears of confusion. Oh, give me that trembling lip!"

"Stop… stop it…" she whimpered, tossing her head to the side. His grip on the sides of her head tightened and he wrenched her back to face him.

"You know everything," he laughed. "Actually, no, you _knew _everything. You've known for a while, haven't you? Did _he _tell you?"

"W-Who?"

"Oh, damn, I love you!" he cried, pulling her body against his in a tight hug. "I love you and I don't want to ever let you go!"

A shiver of disgust and fear washed down her spine as his hands slipped lower on her sides. "Allen, please…"

"I have to see this!" he pushed her a bit away and his excited blue eyes latched on her face. "Please, what? Oh, dearest Hitomi, tell me what you want!"

"Please, I don't know anything!" Tears trailed down her cheeks as he roared with laughter. "I don't know! Why are you doing this!? Please, let me go!"

"Let you go?" he shook his head slowly, grinning. "Let you go? Why would I do that? Don't you want to be with me? Don't you want to see me in my finest hour? I thought you liked me, Hitomi! You _do_ like me, don't you? Like me enough to let me do this…" he tilted his head and forced her lips against his. She opened her mouth and bit his lip hard. With a cry of pain, he let her go and grabbed his bleeding mouth with gloved fingertips. She spit out blood on the floor and glared at him.

His crystal eyes went wild with delight. "I knew you were feisty. I knew you were perfect for me. Like a little bird. A little chirping bird that belongs in a cage. In _my_ cage. No one can hear you if you chirp for help." Grabbing her shoulders roughly, he tossed her onto the sofa and she painfully landed on hands. He closed in, his body instantly hovering an inch over hers on the cushions. His long blond hair draped into her face and he gave her that happy smile.

"Chirp for me, little one. I'd love to hear a song…"

His phone buzzed in his pants and she felt it on her thigh. Allen straightened up and grinned down at her as he retrieved the phone from his front pocket. She couldn't hear what the voice was saying, but the smile on his mouth started to slowly twist as he listened. He ended the call abruptly within the first twenty seconds.

"Seems there's something that needs my immediate attention," he mused, standing up from the couch. She let out a panting breath in relief as he turned away from her. Suddenly, he turned around swiftly and took a picture of her with his phone.

"Let's see what this will bring," he laughed, heading out the door. He turned off the lights and the door shut with a solid snap.

Raising up with gasps, her green eyes switched to the door he'd left. She ran, tried the handle once more, and slid down in defeat. More tears streamed down her eyes and she curled into a ball on the floor.

A caged bird… how horrifyingly accurate.

* * *

"_The sky was a brilliant burning orange. It matched the flaming Guymelef wreckage that scattered the scarred land for a quarter mile. Bodies lie sprawled and abandoned. A filthy, bloodstained white banner flapped feebly in the heat; its sigil displaying the crimson sword of Britonia. _

'_It's so humiliating. We just couldn't hold in the face of Zaibach's military might. Still, we must hold this position.'_

_The king's face had fallen solemn, his dark eyes tossing over one broken corpse to the next. Behind him, the girl stood with her back pressed against the white leg of the Escaflowne as if drawing comfort from it. The commander who was speaking gave a tired sigh. 'We have to hold the line until the Alliance's main forces arrive. We, soldiers of Britonia, will gladly lay down our lives; however… our remaining soldiers are very few.' His blue helmet turned to stare hard at the king. 'If we had the King of Fanelia, Pilot of the Ispano Guymelef, it would bolster the troop's moral. Please, see fit to aid us here. We'll fight side-by-side.'_

_The king closed his eyes, the smell of burning metal lacing the windy valley. The images crossed quickly over his mind: Fanelia… roasting with everything he ever knew. All his generals, all of his men leaping to their Guymelefs only to get burned alive or ripped to shreds by those Cremma Claws-_

_He had a choice. _

_And, with the memory so clear in his head, he found it a very easy one to make._

'_I, the King of Fanelia, will aid you and lead the troops onto the battlefield.' He answered after only a few ticking seconds._

_The commander's face instantly transformed to one of relief. Meanwhile, the girl took several steps forward, her green eyes growing tight on his determined face._

'_Britonia thanks you, sire!'_

'_There is one favor I ask. I would like you to escort this lady to Austuria.' He turned, his eyes meeting the girl's for the first time since discovering the slaughter. He was surprised to see the dark look that had crossed her face. _

_And he suddenly found he couldn't look at her anymore. _

'_Very well!' The commander replied bowing several times. 'A ship will be made ready at once.'_

_As he strolled away, she took another step forward. 'B-But I want to stay,' she said softly and held the pendant up for him. 'With this, I might be able to help you in some way.'_

_A picture of him discovering her power. Another of him using it to help control the Escaflowne and free them from Zaibach's capital. Yet another of the pain in his cheek where she'd slapped him. Another of the pain in his heart when she'd chosen Knight instead of him. _

_And the worst of all: the beam of light taking her away from him - tears leaking out of her beautiful eyes, yet closing happily in relief. Relief that she would no longer be burdened with him. He couldn't let that happen. He __**would never **__let that happen again._

'_I know that if you stayed I would rely on you,' he answered just as soft. 'I need you to understand. I don't want to rely on your powers.'_

_Her mouth opened slightly in surprise. 'H-huh?'_

_He turned to her and she saw the purpose strong and unyielding. The Escaflowne seemed to watch them from its position; its white helmet bent slightly with its dark empty eyes. _

'_I didn't bring you here to get tossed back into my wars. I want… to keep you here with me, but if that will hurt you… if that will-' he stopped. The commander had approached once more._

'_The ship is almost prepared, Your Majesty.' _

'_Good. Please escort her on.'_

_She took another step closer, her stomach dropping in fear._

_Keeping his dark eyes on her for a moment longer, he said, 'I'll come back. I promise.'_

_Within only a few minutes, the small levee took off into the sky. He watched it go, knowing it carried the only thing important to him anymore. He saw her through the window, fading into the sunrise, her hands pressed against the glass._

'_Goodbye,' he whispered._

_Several miles away, two dozen floating fortresses hovered in the clouds and surrounded a large ship. Inside the ship, the voice of General Adolphus exclaimed, 'I don't understand! If we have this many troops, why haven't we been able to advance? With our forty-thousand troops, it would be child's play to defeat that Alliance rabble!' He let out a sharp exhale. 'I'd like to know just what the Emperor is thinking!'_

_The General spoke the thoughts of many in his legion. _

_Unbeknownst to them, back in the Capital, the Emperor in question had a crooked smile planted on his lips at that very moment. The Fate Alteration Engine was at full capacity once more with the return of the Mystic Moon girl. His light eyes pushing to the telescope attached to his seat, he announced, 'I can see it! I can see it! Fate will lead the girl into my hands! The Zone of Absolute Fortune will finally be set in motion…How wonderful…'_

_As if the skies had heard this foreboding declaration, it gathered the darkest clouds and pelted the palace in Austuria with hard rain. The Alliance forces stationed outside stood under tarps and ledges. Drenched soldiers loaded heavy crates onto readying levees for the battle to come. _

_Pressing her hand on the window, the girl let out a long breath. Her thoughts were miles away, focusing solely on a dark-haired king._

'_Rain,' a quiet voice came from her right and she gasped. Flicking his long blond hair over his shoulder, Knight watched the soaking troops over her shoulder. 'There's something sad about the rain. It washes everything away.'_

_The memory of the last time she saw him rushed to her mind and she blushed brightly. His proposal! He'd been waiting for an answer! She'd gone back home before she could even reply! But now. Seeing him standing beside her, she wondered why her heart did not jump to her throat, or her stomach twist nervously, or her eyes dart away shyly. All she saw was his solemn face. His quiet blue eyes. _

'_Knight… I-'_

'_The king… he loves you. You know it, right?' Knight said softly. 'That's why he brought you back here. And I know that you wanted to come back, too.' He laughed at her surprised face. 'You know, this is probably the first time a woman has refused my advances. It's okay.' He closed his eyes, a calm smile on his lips. 'Don't worry about it. The king will return safely because the most important person in the world to him is here – you.'_

_On the higher balcony, another set of eyes watched the ships finish loading their provisions and supplies. In the darkening sky, the airships began to leave the port; taking off one after another. _

'_How thick!' A voice angrily echoed behind Princess' head. She turned to see her husband bracing his elbow on his new desk. He picked up his wine glass, but didn't drink. 'War is useless! Nothing good ever comes of it! It just kills and destroys!'_

_She walked further in, conflicted confusion twisting in her blue eyes. 'Merchant?'_

'_A salesmen such as myself who only sees tags on goods can't do a thing about a war that destroys them. What a cruel joke…'_

'_What's wrong?' she tried again not comprehending his ramblings. 'You don't seem yourself.'_

_He stood from the chair. 'No, I suppose I don't.' Taking steps around his desk, he approached her and placed his hand on her soft cheek. 'Oh, you are so beautiful. Even a goddess would be jealous.'_

'_Oh, Merchant…' she smiled up at him, but gasped as he trailed his hand down to her fingers. Opening her palm, he pressed a ring into her hand. _

'_I'm not the kind of man you deserve here.' He said softly, turning away from her. _

_Her fingers closing on the ring in disbelief; her heart gave a hard squeeze. 'W-What are you saying?' she asked._

'_This war will soon be over. Whichever side wins, the people sacrificed to it will still be there. I want to start over again with them. And who knows? There might be something a man like me is good for. I'll live as a merchant. Ride alongside them. Maybe that's the best shortcut to becoming a man that you deserve.' He turned away from her, walking slowly to the door - and to a new life. _

'_Wait a minute, Merchant! I don't know if I'll be waiting…' Her blue eyes cast to the ground. _

_The name was clear as if it had been spoken out loud: __**Knight**__._

_He stopped, his eyes closing tightly. 'I can make you fall for me because I love you more than anything.'_

_The door closed behind him._

_And that's when the first of her tears began to fall._

_Several floors below the Princess, the girl had left Knight to his quiet thoughts and was staring down at the beautiful carpet that lined the dimming hallway. _

_It was strange how much everything had changed and yet the rain still felt the same to her. The Mystic Moon girl wandered down the long corridor, stopping occasionally to see the water droplets collect on the puddles below. The fleet had begun disembarking for the battlefield. The courtyard was emptying of the clanking metal monsters and shouting men. _

_And Austuria seemed to be crying for them._

_Perhaps it was her growing nervousness for the impending battle to come, perhaps it was the memories of her life in Gaea that kept her walking restlessly through hallway after hallway. _

_The memories were almost like delirious fever dreams. Especially when she recalled the last time it had rain this hard. _

_The girl had been standing on a bridge, her feelings in a turmoil. _

_And Knight had kissed her… her first kiss…_

_Oh, how so much had changed._

_She had been hurt and confused by the king. He had confessed – quite loudly – that wanted her power to take down his enemies… not her at all. Just her power. And she had slapped him for it. _

_The girl stopped walking with a small defeated smile growing on her lips. But now… she found herself in a completely reverse situation. He didn't want her power. He didn't want her help. He loved her and only wanted her to be safe. And here she was wanting to help him! She wanted to give him her power! Wanting to __**do something**__! Anything!_

_Why was everything so complicated?_

_If only she could just go to Zaibach and stop this entire war! If only she could talk reason to the Emperor and explain that fighting was not the answer. Destruction, chaos, death… it was __**never**__ the answer. But all the levee ships were gone and there was no way anyone would ever take her to the heart of Zaibach. _

_She stopped for a moment as a thought crossed her. A beam of light… if she knew how to summon a beam of light then maybe… maybe she __**could **__actually do it! She would be able to speak to the Emperor and possibly put an end to this mess! Save the king and Knight and everyone else before the battle even started!_

_Pumped with the idea, she turned down another hallway and passed an overhanging bridge that connected to another tower… Strageto's quarters… _

_With the king on her mind, she approached his brother's door and knocked on the heavy wood. _

'_Enter,' his deep voice resounded. She turned the knob and was greeted by deep blackness. Blinking her eyes to let them adjust, she finally focused on what looked like a huge round metal ball sitting in the middle of the large chamber. Stratego was bent over a table, graduated cylinders bubbling a mysterious yellow liquid over a gas flame. Noticing her, he straightened up with a curved lip. _

'_I had heard you have come back. It is good to see you again.'_

'_Y-yes…' she stammered suddenly feeling shy. 'Yes, I came back.'_

'_My brother didn't arrive with you?' He asked._

'_He sent me back here on my own.'_

_Stratego's lips curled slightly upward. 'I see… What can I do for you?'_

'_I… I just… wanted to talk to you. It has been a while, Stratego.' She said timidly. _

'_I have a feeling there is more to this visit than mere conversation,' his wise eyes focused on her and she swallowed nervously. _

'_Well, kind of,' she sighed. 'I-I don't really know what to do. I feel so helpless. You see, your brother has gone to help lead the Britonia troops and… and…'_

'_You want to help my brother?' He injected quietly, turning away from her to check a swirling substance in a tube._

'_Can… can you tell me how to create a pillar of light and go to Zaibach?' When he didn't answer, she straightened her shoulders. 'It's my duty to go and see Scientist and get him to stop all this fighting.'_

'_The Emperor is not the type to listen to anyone. Besides, if you were to put yourself in danger it could hurt my brother.' His mahogany eyes tightened and he glanced at the round metal sphere sitting quietly in front of him. 'Anyway, I should be the one who confronts him. A wave that's in-tune to the Fate Alteration Engine should be able to direct the pillar of light. That is why I recovered this device from the floating fortress. I will settle this matter myself.'_

_She took a step towards him, her hand closing on her pendant. 'Stratego, you mustn't…' Her vision flashed with the sound of flapping wings… black wings… he was falling. Stratego was falling to the ground, his life slipping away… a drip of red joined an already large pool of blood..._

_Another blink and she was back staring at his determined face. And she knew… if he went to see Scientist… he would die! _

_He glanced back at her as if reading her mind. Another flash of the blood showed her a black feather floating with finality in the scarlet pool. _

_Outside, the puddles of rain had finally stopped growing as the sky began to clear. Princess' blue eyes were red and puffy, yet she held herself with dignity as she heard Knight come closer. _

'_Merchant has gone.'_

'_I heard,' he answered quietly._

'_I suppose he was being kind… in his own way… I had thought he would make me happy. That's how it's always been. I wanted someone to make me happy.' Her hand squeezed the ring he'd left till the metal bit into the skin of her palm. 'I know that it was all wrong and I didn't realize it until Merchant left me. But you knew, Knight. You knew all along, didn't you?' _

'_Please, Princess, I-'_

'_Don't say anything!' she turned quickly to face him. 'If I hear one kind word from you… I'll start to rely on you. I don't want to be a burden to you. I'm going to be just… fine.' And as she said the word, she knew it was the truth. Knight knew it was well because a smile slowly grew on his handsome face. _

_He kneeled where he was standing and spoke loudly: 'Knight, Soldier of Caeli, will now leave for battle. This is goodbye for now, Princess.'_

'_May the Sea Dragon, Leviathan, always watch over you and fortune smile upon you in the battle to come.' She said, her voice carrying through the room. _

_Knight boarded his levee. The last ship to leave Palas for battle. _

_Zaibach was already awaiting their opponents. On the borderlands of the Grarer, Manosap, Kipple, and Flu, the four rivers would serve as the final clash between the Zaibach forces and the Alliance. _

_Jajuka, his canine ears perked, nodded to the messenger. He walked towards a long blue tent standing just outside the Guymelef garrison. The dog-man opened the flap and let out a low breath. The boy, Dilandau, was still slumped in his chair just where he'd left him two hours prior. A brilliantly sharp flame hissed; hardly shedding any light in the dank dark room. A table stood beside the boy as well as a glass of pink wine. _

_Jajuka approached Dilandau and saw his vacant eyes. 'Lord Dilandau, we have just received our orders and we are to meet up with the thirty-second division at the Grarer River.'_

'_Oh, really?' the boy responded with a hazy voice. 'It's been a while since we've had a good battle.' Standing from his chair, he gazed drunkenly into the canine's gentle eyes. 'This is going to be fun!'_

_The rain had completely stopped, night had fallen, and the cries of the large battlefield had finally begun._

_Machine and man alike rose up wave after wave for the slaughter. Liquid metal laced from Cremma Claws. Sword tossed aside shields and sloshed with blood. Fire spewed from hover tanks; burning men alive. Everywhere, voices roared against their enemy, slicing and falling as one. Guymelefs pilots from either side closed on the lines. Smoke, blood, cries of agony. _

_The king was surrounded by it at the Flu. Charging in, he tore off a Guymelef Claw before running his sword through the control chamber. Slipping the blade out, he sliced the cavity that held the liquid metal for the Cremma Claw and it spilled over the Guymelef; hissing and bubbling._

_At the Grarer Riverlands, Cremma Claws shot after a grey Guymelef with a blue cape as it soared into the battlefield. Knight hammered into a Zaibach Guymelef as soon as he landed, dealing a quick killing blow. But no matter how many he took out, there was always more coming over the mountains. Knight checked his left and right and tried to catch his breath. _

_So many of them. _

_The battlefield was overrun. _

_Seeing this destruction from the sky, his eyes wide with panic and beads of frightened sweat lacing down his thick cheeks, the General of Joko's Legion trembled from his command post. _

'_We must deploy it!' _

_His second-in-command gasped sharply from his control station. 'What!? Use our ultimate weapon!?'_

'_At this rate we won't even make it to enemy headquarters! We'll have to blast our way through!' the General shouted shakily as another explosion rocked his ship. _

'_But sir! We are station right over our allies at Kipple! The bomb will spread all the way to the connecting rivers! It will wipe out everyone!' _

_The General's eyes widened even further with a deranged stare. 'I don't care! Zaibach, we are going to teach you a lesson, you bastards!' _

'_General, please don't do this!'_

'_TASTE THE POWER OF JOKO'S NEW WEAPON!' the man screamed._

_An armored carrier ship left the dock only minutes later and silently flew over the dusky clouds. The only two men in the ship looked at each other briefly before each placing a hand on their separate deploy buttons. _

'_Let's do it,' one said, his voice muffled through a mask._

'_Right,' the other one nodded. 'Climate bank is falling. Now… DROP!' Both men twisted their switch and slammed their fists down on 'deploy'. The cables holding the weapon retracted…_

_And the bomb was released."_

* * *

"Take a left here," Van said in the back seat of the white sedan. The woman in the front rolled her eyes and turned as instructed. Trees passed them by in the bright morning sun, but the cheery day only made Van more anxious. "There will be a dirt road up ahead."

"You weren't kidding about a secret base," she scoffed. "Where the hell are we anyway?"

"Everything I need is here. Trust me. This is why you came for me."

"Whatever you say," she sighed, pressing the gas pedal and running into the potholes.

It was only a minute later, the trees parted and a small cottage brushed into view. Van let out a low silent breath. His potted plants were a bit shriveled from lack of water, but other than that, nothing looked disturbed.

"Pull up to the door," he instructed the woman. "You can stay in the car. You'll just get in the way. Folken, get the wheel chair."

The car stopped, his brother stepped out and opened his door. As the man opened the chair for him, Van's eyes darkened as he saw an outline of a hidden pouch sewn into his jacket.

A gun…

The ice-cold shivers that ran down Van's spine told him that it was _the _gun.

He used Folken's shoulder to climb in and he wheeled himself to the front door just as the car door opened and the woman stepped out.

"Get back in the car."

"Make me, gimp," she sneered.

Their standoff only lasted for a few seconds before – "Fine, just don't get in my way."

"Do you have keys for this place?" Folken asked.

"Whatever this rat hole is…" the woman added.

"Don't need them," Van answered.

Lifting a latch where the doorbell should be, he pressed his thumb on a pad and let out a long breath as the door locks clicked. Opening the door, he felt a slight relief in his unease as his eyes flicked over the familiar dark monitors that lined the walls. No furniture, no kitchen, no bathroom. Just a large square space filled to the brim with wires, cords, and stacked heavy equipment. On the ground, a black carpet with a white dragon on it was spread over the wooden floor.

The woman whistled. "Wow… you've never gotten laid, have you?"

"You have a computer lab in here?" Folken asked quietly.

"I have a fucking _army_ in here." Van lifted a hand to gesture. "For simple introductions: to the left, we have my juggernauts. Aligning the back are my spies, and to the right..." Van's lips curved lightly. "I've decided to remold it in honor of what I'm about to do."

"Remold it? What are you talking about?" Folken glanced to the right and only one large monitor was on the wall. A single enormous desktop drive and a keyboard set were underneath; however, many various machines lined around it – wires sticking out of the computer from all directions.

Van ignored his question and instantly wheeled his chair from left to right; quickly switching on monitors and hard drives. "That first worm from before… It was singlet part of my spy program. Now that I know what I'm up against, I'll take care of the company for good. I'll make sure to bring a whole new level of hell." He rolled to the back where his 'spies' were and typed several things with the speed of a striking snake. Instantly, files began streaming forth. "Good, good… they'll never trace me with that crap." He murmured, his back straight and his mouth twisting further into a hard smile. Van flickered through several monitors at once, stretching his arm from his chair at times to press 'ENTER' on occasion.

Folken watched in silent awe as his brother started waging a one man battle.

He left the 'spies' and moved on to the 'juggernauts'. Slipping the mice over the table with perfect precision, he clicked ferociously down the line. Wave after wave on each screen, an outline of injected information soared through the internet and punched through firewalls like titans.

"My worm was even more successful than I thought. The information I am giving will likely have your names listed as well as the crimes you've committed." Van announced not looking away from his computers. "You both will likely be killed because of this."

"Meh, I had nothing better to do." She shrugged, lighting a cigarette.

"I didn't plan on living through this," Folken answered just as calmly. "Who are you giving our names to?"

Van rolled back to the 'spies'.

"Everyone," he said simply, typing a stream of code on each keyboard and pressing 'ENTER'. "And this is not just you two. Everything I have gathered these past months before the worm was destroyed will be opened. It will be everywhere. My juggernauts are made for this. The first three computers to your left are bugged on social media – Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, interest sites like Pinterest and 9GAG - even the smaller ones like popular blogs. Anything that has a following of over ten million is tapped instantly. The next three are strapped into website news which update their cover stories every hour or so. The last time they updated was forty-two minutes ago, so that buys me some time to make sure this all enters at the same instant. The last four are linked into the three largest smart phone distributors. The information will be served to every customer's smartphone or tablet. Every cartel name, every execution order, every password, very underhanded son-of-a-bitch will be tied permanently to this information. And there is no deleting it. The juggernauts are set on lock. No one will be able to click away. It will be everywhere; frozen. That's were your names will be."

"You're going to invade the entire internet?" Folken asked.

Van snorted. "No, I'm going to _break_ the entire internet."

"What about the little computer on the right?" The woman asked through a cloud of cigarette smoke.

"That's my masterpiece and the reason you came to me." Van's fingers flitted over another set of keys and finally, he finally turned to roll to the right. The screen lit and a code word popped up. "Unfortunately, this will have to be the one thing I need to have physically plug into the company's mainframe. My worm's decoded path isn't near strong enough to carry it through cybernetically."

"Why not connect it through this?" Folken took out his powered-off cell and Van inhaled tightly. Twisting around, he flew to his brother, grabbed the cell phone from his hand, and smashed it on the ground.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing with that?!" Van roared, rolling to pick up the Intel chip from the remains. His wheels spun to Folken's immediate left where a set of tools stood pinned on the wall.

Van panted and closed his eyes tightly. His legs shook as he stood slowly and reached for a set of sharp pliers hanging there.

"I could help you-"

"I don't need your help!" Van snarled, plopping down in the seat and pressing the chip into the pliers. He sliced it in half. "They can trace it, you fucking idiot!" Turning to the woman with the pliers still in his lap, he barked, "what about you?"

"Dude, chill the fuck out. I crushed mine earlier."

Van growled. "Thank God, at least one of you has sense."

Throwing the tool down, it clattered loudly as he whizzed back to the right and continued punching in an entire screen worth of symbols. The machines all lining the right side started whirling as one. Van was silent, his fingers flying, his sharp eyes never blinking.

"Tell me why the sudden change in heart." Van's voice broke the heavy silence. It was hard and deep. "From what I saw in the files, you had it good, Folken. _Very_ good. You were top for a while – that is, until you failed to kill me. Now you've turned all rogue and shit. Let me guess: you _loved_ your little brother so much you just couldn't stand to be the bad guy anymore?"

"It wasn't about you." Folken confessed. "But I did save you."

"You failed to inject me with deadly poison while I lie on a bed completely defenseless. Nice one."

"I chose to not use that syringe."

"Because you just couldn't stand sitting in your own fucking misery anymore. I'm surprised you only amounted to smothering. You're a scared little bitch, Folken."

Folken fell quiet. And Van kept typing.

"He could have killed you, but he didn't. He could have let this Allen prick get you, but instead he's helping you rescue this – Hitomi, whatever her name is. My point is: he's doing the right thing _now_…" the words were from the woman's smoky lips. "He wants to help you. I honestly couldn't give a flying fuck, but your brother actually cares. I'm surprised how you can't see it."

His fingers flying, he barked. "You're asking _me _how I can't see it?"

She shrugged. "For what it's worth, I trust him enough to pull this plan off. I trust him to cover his end and make sure the job gets done. Just like he's going to trust me to do my part. And we are trusting _you_ to bring all of this together."

"Nice little trust circle we have going on." Van scowled. "Too bad the main reason Folken decided to let me live is because he needs me."

"And you need us. You're not going anywhere fast, _hot-wheels_." The woman rebutted. "We are both willing to die to change this world."

"After poisoning it in the first place."

"Yeah, well, no one's perfect."

It was another solid three minutes with the screen flashing in the dark room before Van turned and injected a black USB drive into the system. The machines whirled louder than ever. Finally, he swiveled his chair around and faced the two waiting.

"This is where you'll come into play. If you wanna die then die giving them this."

"And what is that exactly?" the woman asked.

"The system is called 'Avalanche'. That's pretty self-explanatory from the name. Any wire that's tapped into the company's database will be utterly annihilated as soon as this is booted into the system."

She barked a laugh. "Doesn't that mean your systems as well?"

Van shot the woman an annoyed glare. "_I'm _the one who created it. What the hell do you think? I've got a blockade for this kind of hard destruction just in case, but the 'Avalanche' senses its own and bypasses it. There's always a symbol that you can mold the 'Avalanche' into. Mine's The Dragon."

"'The Dragon'?! Ha! You really haven't been laid, have you?" she laughed.

Van suddenly turned and ejected the black USB. Ignoring her, he rolled to his brother and placed the small piece of warm metal into his palm. Looking up at him, he said, "I've got more work to do here. I've got one more thing to tap through and then we can start this. A small bot that can use the worm's decoded trail and find me a location. This is where I need you to hold up your end of the bargain."

"A location?" Folken asked as his long fingers curled around the destructive program.

Van spun to his 'spies', his voice breaking only slightly.

"To the only one that matters to me anymore."

* * *

The back of Allen's knees hit the chair as he stared at the television in disbelief. Channel after channel after channel after channel, back and forth, over and over and over waves upon waves of information was being broadcasted. A total purge of the most secret files. Lists and lists of agents all around the globe. Locations, descriptions, drugs, guns, murder, death, faked stocks, business scandals, even simple credit card frauds.

It was beautiful. The work of an artist. A masterpiece perfected in hands so skilled, one could make no other like it.

In response to this violent torrent, the internet had shut down completely.

It was a cyber-attack that would make emperors bow at the knee.

Allen couldn't stop watching the chaos. His name would be in there, but he found he didn't care. Oh, the screams of panic, whirls of those trying to flee from something as final as _this_…

"Could this be… your power…?" He breathed, leaning back in the chair. "Is this your_ only _masterpiece? Are actually trying to come for me…?" Pulling out his phone, his hand trembled as he held the fragile piece of plastic. Something so small and simple. So insignificant.

His mouth stretched into a wild grin as he dropped his phone on the ground and crushed it underneath his foot. He picked up his shoe again and smashed it further. And again. And again. And again.

"Hope you saw the picture…" Allen whispered, his blue eyes wild with delight.

* * *

"No…" Van breathed, his eyes widening. He leaned forward and grabbed his long hair with trembling fingers. His thoughts stopped completely as the screen on the right uploaded the photos it had been copying before it was cut off.

A picture of a woman, her short hair, her lovely eyes wild with fear.

"What's that?" The woman lit another cigarette and came up behind Van's back. Looking at the photo she clicked her tongue. "She's pretty."

Rolling swiftly over her foot, Van's heart beat in a sickening panic. "H-Hitomi…" His mahogany eyes glazed over her pale features. Her familiar blue scrubs. Her mouth slightly open in horror.

"So _this_ is Hitomi." The woman said.

"He's got her…" The words were hard to get out of his throat.

"Well, let's hop in the rescue van and get her then," she said shrugging.

"…Wasn't able to find him. I didn't have enough time to establish a lock on the router before he killed his phone. I have no way of finding her location. Damn it… She's… she's…"

"Actually, I might be able to help with that," her lips curled delicately. "Don't get pissy on me, but I've got another phone."

Van spun so fast, he almost fell out of his chair. "_Wha… what!?_"

Her smile blossomed and she held the phone for him to see. "I took that nurse's phone as we were leaving. Her nurse friend? Yukari? I figured you could trace her call to your girl's phone and do whatever the magical shit. I don't really care."

Several flashes of emotion spilled over Van's face. Finally, it settled for anger. "You have compromised this entire operation bringing that in-"

"Quit your bitch whining and use it. I'll take the gratitude later." She rolled her eyes and dropped the small phone in Van's lap. "This is taking _forever_! Hurry up!"

She stomped out of the room and the door slammed shut.

Van and Folken just stared after her.

Whipping out connecting cords, Van plugged the phone in and instantly spilled into its data storage. From Yukari's last call, he tried the connection between the two phones and found the systems in Hitomi's phone destroyed.

But… her Intel chip was still intact.

"Allen didn't properly destroy the data chip inside her phone! I can still use it!" In his head he added, '_You're an amateur, asshole…'_

The location slowly locked down on her. A street… a building… the third floor of a small house. Slipping into networking system, he found several sources connected within.

_I'll protect you. _

A television cable router, four security cameras, and… a computer? His fingers trembling, he broke open the router code and found the computer was not connected. There was nothing he could do unless someone physically plugged it in. "I can barely connect to her phone. I've got a lock on her location, but I can't get into the building through it. I need that computer turned on to get into the mainframe. There's a television wired in as well as cameras, but those don't have data branches…"

_I'll protect you._

There was no way he could storm into the place in a wheel chair. Allen would shoot him dead.

That meant…

Folken.

Her words came back to the forefront of his mind as he lowered his hands from the keyboard and turned to glance at his dark brother.

_"My faith is in __you__," _she had said_. "And because I know you, it extends to him. I believe in him because you are such a good person. No one related to you can truly be evil."_

"You are going with me to get her." Van hated the words as he said them. "You are going with me and helping me get her back. I don't care about you or anyone else. Just her. Help me save her because I… I can't do it alone." He gritted his teeth and pushed back the burning in his eyes. "Let that woman inject 'Avalanche' into the company's systems. Let her take care of the company."

Folken was quiet, the USB rolling in his fingertips.

"I told her about you. Hitomi asked me one night and I told her our story. And you know what she said? She said she believed in you… she believed in you because you are my brother. You shot me in the head and almost killed me in the hospital and she damn _believed _you were a good person. She was convinced that ultimately your morals will catch up to you." Van snorted and shook his head. "And, in some sick way, it looks like they have. Though your reasons are not necessarily for my sake, you are trying to finally do the right thing."

Van swiveled back to his 'spies' before the emotion could shake his voice any further.

"I'll do it." Folken said. "I'll save her or I'll die trying."

"Try not to die if you can." The dark humor was back in Van's voice. "I still want to kick your ass when I get out of this damn chair."

* * *

It had been about twenty minutes since Allen left her. Her eyes were fully dilated to the darkness.

She searched for a way to turn on the computer. It was like an alien to her.

She sank to her knees before it, her head hanging. She'd been a fool. Allen was probably on his way to kill Van as she stayed here waiting for her fate. Everything she thought she was guarding was breaking apart. A violent image of her friends at the hospital running screaming for their lives filled her mind. Allen's soft pleasant laughter echoing before a spatter of bullets rained down upon them; staining the white crisp walls. Van, lying defenseless in his bed, cursing her for leading Allen straight to him.

"Van… Oh, I'm so sorry…" her tears swam her vision. "I wish I knew what to do. I wish I could somehow reach you…"

_I'll protect you_…

She gasped and her green eyes popped open.

No, no, it couldn't be…

_I'll protect you._

Her head whipped up and she stared at the desk as her mouth fell open.

It was Van's voice…

And it came from the computer.

* * *

_"The girl stood on the balcony just as before, her hands collapsed in prayer around her glittering pendant. She watched the black sky, her green eyes searching for hints to the one she cared about the most. 'I wish I could help you… I wish I could do something…' she whispered to the empty stars. A small thud behind her made her turn with surprise. A figure, her cat tail spread on the coverlet, was curled on her bed. _

_Merle…_

_The girl came into the room, her voice full of warmth. 'Merle, are you okay?' Hearing the quiet sniffles, she came to sit in front of her. 'What's wrong?'_

'_C-Can I stay here?' the kitten whimpered._

'_Yes,' the girl said immediately. _

'_Oh, I'm so scared!' Merle cried straightening up and looking tearfully into the girl's wide eyes. 'What if my lord is never going to come back?' Breaking down further, she leapt into the girl's lap, 'I'm so scared for him! I want him to come back, but what if he doesn't? What if I never see him again!?'_

_Putting her arms around her shaking shoulders, the girl whispered, 'Believe in him. He will come back, alright, Merle?'_

'_How can you be so s-sure?' Merle's voice muffled from her shirt._

'_Because he told me he would. He promised me.'_

'_He did?'_

_The girl's smiled reassuringly. 'Yes, and I will hold him to that promise.'_

_The ten alchemic components slowly began to push together inside the dropping device, pushing ever so closer to the pulsating core. As the bomb cleared the clouds, the ten chemicals collided together and a light of pure white instantly tore apart the sky. Those directly below the clouds, Alliance and Zaibach, Friend and Foe, only had one brief second to look up in surprise before they were vaporized. It traveled, a high pitch shrill for miles, ripping everything in its path. The Kipple River crumbled as the water instantly evaporated. _

_It kept going, blasting for a clear mile straight to the Manosap, which also evaporated as soon as the light hit it. There were screams, there were cries of fear, and following was instantaneous death._

_Knight backed away sharply, his vision gone in the traveling sea of white. Running blindly, his Guymelef tumbled into a large crevice in the mountainside and the light brushed past – melting the helmet of his grey mecha. 'They did it…' he snarled through gritted teeth as his Guymelef's controls blinked wildly. 'I can't believe they deployed it!' The light blasted more rocks and they fell on top of him. _

'_It just went off!' One of the crew from Knight's levee ship cried out. 'Stupid Joko! What have they done?!'_

'_Take us behind the mountains NOW! This isn't a war! This is a mass slaughter!' Gadeth roared. _

_The ship slipped behind the mountain just as the light struck._

_At the Flu, the king froze, his sword stopped halfway through a strike. _

_The light was coming…_

_She gasped and her fingers clutched into the fabric of Merle's little dress. The cat had fallen asleep in her arms, but the girl had stayed awake; her heart unable to settle itself. Glancing immediately at the window, she sat up further and Merle let out a small groan. The night sky was shining as if daylight was approaching. But it wasn't the warm golden light of sunrise._

_It was a violent white. She heard a sharp shrilling sound and felt the burning stab of fear._

_The king fell back quickly, tossing Escaflowne into Dragon Frame. Jets igniting, the king soared past a floating fortress just in time to see it melt before his very eyes. He felt the searing heat of the blast on his back. Twisting, he dove over a cliff just as the discharge of white burst forward and rocketed outward. Barely shielded from the blast, his eyes shut protectively and he counted each shattering breath, each flap of Escaflowne's wings, each second that clicked further and further. And then, within seconds, the white was receding. The shrilling scream of the blast faded away leaving only a loud ringing echoing in his ears and the harsh pounding of his own heart. A horrific crash thudded below him though he could barely hear it. Glancing down with stinging mahogany eyes, he saw another floating fortress that had been cut in half from the light. It had fallen many feet below him and was now a smoking pile of molten metal._

_Inside the destroyed floating fortress the king was looking at, General Adolphus crawled from the sizzling wreckage of his Vione; blood raining down his forehead and dripping into his snarling mouth. 'I'll get you… Just you wait and see! I'll make you pay for this! This is an act of the DEVIL!'_

_The light dissipated slowly to reveal the sheer eradication of the armies. The wind tossed forward; picking up ashy dust that used to be soldiers. For miles, lines of deformed metal that once served as Guymelef militia were soldered in their position, forever entombed. With a heavy roar, Knight finally pushed the largest boulder off his mecha's shoulders and was able to crawl out of the crevice he'd fallen into. And then he stood, his blue eyes phasing in and out of focus at the carnage. _

_The king flicked his controls and his dragon slipped back over the edge. He tossed it back to Knight Frame and he choked on air filled with fire and dust. _

'_W-What just happened…?' he rasped out. 'It's all gone…'_

_The armies, the rivers, the ships that had blanketed the sky. _

'…_There's… there's nothing left…'_

_It was quiet. And he was alone. Britonia's army had been completely obliterated. _

_He was the only one left._

_Suddenly, a Zaibach Guymelef emerged from the side of another cliff and charged the king with insanity and rage. _

'_What are you madmen doing!?' the soldier shrieked. 'You think you can possibly wipe out Zaibach!?' _

_Gasping in surprise, the king swept out his sword and fluidly sliced the man – machine and all - in half. As the Guymelef fell with a fizzing hiss, a white light pierce the king's eyes again and he groaned. He heard the man's dying voice screaming, 'Curse you all! Curse you all to hell!' The fiery light raced forward in his mind. His hands began to shake, his heart beating wildly. He knew this fear he was feeling. He knew this pain. The chilling cries of the dead calling out for him. Their hands coming to grab him… to drag him away…_

'_No! No, I didn't-' he tried, but his voice failed him. He hadn't done this! It wasn't his fault!_

_Her green eyes focused on the dark sky, she felt her heart pound hard and fast in her chest. 'No… he's hurting… I can feel it.' she whispered, slowly untangling Merle's arms and setting her on the bed. 'He's… hurting so much…' Rushing silently to the balcony, she stared hard at the horizon where the light had retreated. 'He's alive, but… ah, so much pain…' she groaned as another wave of fear and agony hit her. Clutching the pendant's chain hard in her hand, she straightened up. 'I've got to end all this fighting. I have to do this for him.'_

_Leaving Merle fast asleep, she ran out the door and into the dark hallways. She knew where to go. _

_She knew who to turn to…_

_Meanwhile, the king marched forward alone, his body acting without his will. His mind numb save for all, but the ringing sound of light and screams. The Escaflowne was practically on auto-pilot. He took each step forward blinded. _

_Little did he know he was being drawn to the west… to Grarer… _

_Closer to Knight._

_Through all the pain and horror miles away, one man whistled a small Fanelian tune which had become such a habit he hardly realized he did it. In the candlelight of his large chamber, the echo of his song was almost haunting. It bounced from wall to wall amidst the quiet humming of the large glowing globe in the middle of the room. He stopped mid-whistle as the door to his room slammed open and footsteps pounded inside. _

'_Stratego!' the girl's voice came forth. She stopped running with a panting breath, her green eyes wild. 'Your brother. He's hurting. I-I want to… no, I __**have **__to help him!' She stepped closer. _

_His lips curled into a quiet smile. 'Somehow, I knew you'd come.'_

_Her vision flashed to the pool of blood and her resolve faltered 'But I saw… I saw something that was…' His lips lowered and his mahogany eyes turned curious. 'I saw that… that you might die in Zaibach, Stratego! I… I saw something that was so horrible.'_

_He sighed quietly. 'You needn't worry about that. I don't have much longer to live.'_

'_What?' she gasped._

_Turning away from her, he stripped off his tunic so that his torso was exposed. The jet black wings slowly enfolded into the air from his back; stretching with their dark beauty. 'A reaction of fortune is shortening my life. These black wings are proof of that.'_

'_Your black wings are…?' she couldn't finish the sentence._

'_I plan to atone with my life for my many crimes. My crimes for working for the Emperor. This… This is my fate.'_

'_NO!' she shouted, tears filling her green eyes. 'No, you can't! If you die then you'll leave your brother all alone! I don't want to see him alone! I… I can't stand the thought of him being unhappy!'_

'_Don't worry. He will succeed. I will leave my body behind all for the sake of a new world.' Stratego said calmly. _

'_No, no, that's not right!' she said desperately. 'I will do everything I can to change that awful fate!'_

_Her wish was heard._

_And it was granted._

_Her pendant instantly began to glow. The round machine behind Stratego's head erupted with flashing light. It twisted and spun, the whirling of gears and switches. Suddenly, a beam of light laced around both their feet and tossed upward into the ceiling. _

_They disappeared from the chamber._

_Far on the battlefield, the jewel on the Escaflowne's chest shimmered as if leading him to a woven destiny. He marched onward in his daze. Only half a mile away, the armies of Zaibach stationed in Grarer were beginning to crawl from their shelter and continue the onslaught. Knight sliced down another half melted Guymelef, his blue eyes sparking with anticipation._

'_Just where is that red Guymelef?' he hissed. He glanced down the mountainside and saw the impending Zaibach legion forming back into line. _

_In the Zaibach Capital, the machine glistened slowly brighter and the Emperor leaned back from his telescope._

'_They've come,' he smiled just as a pillar of light raced down and covered the dark chamber in bright white. Two figures emerged from the pillar: one smaller and the other tall with outstretched black wings._

'_Where are we?' the girl asked with her green eyes wide._

_Both Stratego and the girl gasped as the Emperor said, 'Everything is now in place! All of the pieces have come to me! The time has come to use the full power of the fate alteration engine! All is proceeding according to my will!'_

'_Your will?' Stratego stepped forward to cover the girl._

'_Yeeess… I guided fate so you would bring the girl from the Mystic Moon to me.'_

_Stratego snarled through clenched teeth. 'Tell me just how long you plan to toy with fate!?'_

'_A foolish question. You should know my true intentions…'_

'_Then you should know what I'm planning to do!' Stratego roared. _

'_Oh, you have come to kill me, correct?' the old man answered softly. _

_The girl gasped. _

'_Come on! Kill me!' The Emperor shouted. 'Come on! What are you waiting for?'_

_His hand hardly wavering, Stratego withdrew the long blade that was belted at his waist and pointed it up to where the old man was sitting. _

'_No, don't do it!' her cry echoed in the chamber. 'You mustn't!'_

_The machines hissed around him; The Emperor laughed as his armor slipped open to reveal a withered body. He stood, his limbs so thin and skin so translucent, he looked half decayed already. He held his arms out wide. 'Now is the time to fight with me, Stratego!' His dark laugh made the hairs on the back of the girl's neck stand up. _

'_Monster!' Stratego took off from the ground with a fury. Black feathers followed his journey trailing behind him._

'_Stratego, stop it!' she screamed after him, but he couldn't hear her over the blood pounding in his ears. This venomous snake who had poisoned the world for the sake of his ideal future. Someone he'd trusted to lead a better world. His grip on his sword grew harder as he grew closer to the man who had started it all. The man who had built an empire of lies and pain._

_Stratego landed on the machine that sustained the old man's life and raised his sword up high. The long white beard, the hard eyes, the wizened face that knew his time had come._

'_No, don't!' she shrieked._

_He roared as he sliced his sword down with all the strength he could muster. Through the thin flesh and fragile bones, the katana easily slid through the old man's body. _

_The sword point hit the back of the Emperor's open armor and chipped off…_

_Below the girl's eyes widened. She saw what was to come._

_The fate alteration engine above Stratego's head filtered a violent blue as the broken point flipped through the air and embedded itself into warm flesh. His mahogany eyes wide, his breath gasping in and out with the steam still rising from the Emperor's armor, Stratego wheezed with his black wings outstretched. 'I see… this is the heart of the fate alteration. Where action and reaction are the most powerful…' His sword dropped from his hand as his eyes lowered to the sharp point sticking out of his chest. Red blood trailed down to his waist and dripped on the metal. 'At least now the war will be over… This world will find true peace…'_

_With those words leaving his lips, the black angel fell backward limply._

_Below, the girl watched in horror. The ebony feathers floated all around her as the winged figure crashed into the side and tumbled with finality to the ground. He collided with the floor in such a sickening twist, she screamed. The blood dripped from his head and mouth. A bubble of red emerged from his lips as his mouth tried to say his last word: brother._

_The king's mind awoke. He'd heard a chilling scream and his eyes flashed with the vision of a tall, strong figure. The man he'd always looked up to as a child. _

'_Brother,' he said softly and an unexpected tear slipped down his cheek. _

'_Brother…'_

_She collapsed to her knees, her heart twisting in her chest. 'He's crying… I feel him crying…' Her hands covered her face so she could no longer see Stratego's twisted form. Guilt spread over her shoulders. She had tried. She tried to save Stratego! She tried to stop him from his goal of killing the Emperor! And now, just like she'd seen it in the vision, the king was in agony. _

'_Why? Why do sad things like this always happen?' she sobbed into her hands. All around her the whirling fate alteration engine twisted its gears quietly as if giving her this moment to grieve. 'No more… I don't want to see anymore. I'm… I'm sick of this kind of fate!'_

_Hearing her wish, her pendant sparkled and the deep blue of the fate alteration engine ignited into a glowing terrible white. Running electricity began to pump from the Emperor's control chamber by itself. The gears grinded more loudly._

_The girl gasped and glanced up._

_Before her stood the ghostly figure of an old man. _

_Turning to the girl with deep-set, tired eyes, he softly said, 'It has begun. Just sit back and watch with me, young lady. Watch the zone of absolute fortune.'_

'_B-but you're-'_

'_Yes, my wish is granted as well…'_

_The lightning cracked and raced, the machine whirled loudly, and the white light grew even brighter. She screamed as it suddenly shot off like the pillar of light, only this time the pillar was a sickly green. It spread like a disease into the sky in all directions. The men who were left from the bomb stopped their tireless fight and watched with baited breath. Cries of 'what is that?', 'look!', 'we're all going to die!' echoed across the scarred land. _

_The Demon Army of Bronze stepped forward with a scowl. 'What is that bright light?' he growled at a passing soldier. _

'_It's coming from the capital of the Empire! Look!'_

_Indeed the green light spread viciously and slowly dissipated – leaving the sky dark once more._

_But every one of their eyes were lifted to the heavens, whispers of understanding drifting through each of their minds. _

'_You're alive!?' the girl gasped._

'_No, but it was my fervent wish to see my hard work come to fruition. To see the true happiness created by the zone of absolute fortune.'_

'_What do you mean by 'zone of absolute fortune'?' the girl called out sharply. _

'_The alteration of fate brought about by the ultimate activation of the fate alteration engine. It will grant everyone their wishes creating perfect happiness. The true value of the Atlantis Machine is now being put to the test.'_

'_My God, you're insane…' she gasped. 'That's what destroyed Atlantis!'"_

* * *

Van, surrounded by wires, electrical equipment, and a portable laptop continued his furious typing from the back seat of the car. Folken stopped the vehicle around the corner and the golden woman made a move to open the door.

"Need a hand carrying it in?" He asked, stopping her.

"_Please_, I can manage. I've been storing gasoline away in this building long before we made this little alliance. You never know when you need to burn the world around you. This is just to get the flames going." Her usual seductive countenance was failing slightly with uncharacteristic apprehension.

The fear of what she was about to do seemed to hit her. Looking into her large amber eyes, Folken saw her twin inside.

The silver woman.

"I look like her right now, don't I? Don't worry. It will go away soon enough." She let out a strange chuckle. "My sister's already fading from me. She was always the better one of the two of us; the only good thing in my life. The only thing holding me back."

"She was good." Folken agreed. "She told me something I needed to hear. Something I'd forgotten about myself. Something that should have never left me."

The woman nodded. "Naru was always like that – bringing out the best in people… but she's gone now. And soon they will be, too. The good is gone and what is left is just me: the one who will always light a match to watch hell on earth. So, what's your parting words?"

He thought for a moment.

"For my morality."

"Ha!" she barked a laugh. "Morality? Never touched the stuff in my life! That's why I'll be roasting in hell pretty soon." Her feral smile had returned. "But I'll be dragging every single one of these fuckers down with me. Make sure to look me up when you get there."

"What are your parting words?" Folken asked.

She grinned wider. "Much better than yours: For my funeral pyre."

For the first time in years, a small hint of a smile curved on Folken's stoic lips. "See you in hell."

"Yeah, look me up when you get there. Oh, and aim for the head _properly_ this time. Allen's the worst fucker of them all." she chuckled. "Before I forget. You should probably use this." Reaching into her top, she pulled out a thick key and tossed it into Folken's lap. "It's to the X-49. The base it's stored in is not far from here, ya know. I trust you were trained like I was, right?"

"How did you get this?" Folken asked.

"Let's just say my old man won't be needing it. Not that he ever used it to begin with. That base is nearly deserted. It's perfect." She turned around to Van and another flash of her sister crossed her eyes.

"Take care of her, virgin. Don't let that son-of-a-bitch win."

Van glanced up and their eyes met. Then he silently nodded and continued typing.

Stepping out of the car door, she grabbed up the sloshing gasoline tank and shut the door behind her.

* * *

Hitomi was on her knees awkwardly looking for the power cord, the on-switch, _anything _to get this computer working. She turned around to press a button on the monitor with her bound hands– nothing. She hit another button on the desktop drive with her chin – still nothing.

Her forehead dripped with sweat as her green eyes glanced frantically at the closed door. Allen could come in any moment and see her. She had to get this thing working as soon as possible. She was well aware she was probably losing her mind hearing Van's voice echoing from a dark screen, but her heart was racing as his words repeated fervently within her.

_I'll protect you_.

Standing up panting, she hurried around the long desk and grunted as she pushed the monstrous furniture away from the wall with only her legs. It scraped loudly on the tile floor and her heart stopped waiting for Allen to come.

He didn't.

With her mind set, she grunted and groaned under her breath, working feverishly to shove the table further and further with her arms tied. The legs scooted, the metal screeched, and after several heated minutes of work she freed about five inches from the wall. Peaking over the side, she felt a toss of relief. A long white power strip was lying with four black plugs connected. That must be where the computer was hooked up. And her heart lifted even more.

The strip wasn't plugged in!

The computer could work!

Shoving the desk away with as much force as she could, she turned around so her shaking fingers could grab the white cord. Stretching for the outlet, her arms screamed and her shoulders ached, but finally… finally…

The white cord plugged into an outlet in the wall.

* * *

Folken ran a red light, and then another.

Van hitched a quick breath in the backseat and began typing furiously once more.

"What's happening?" his brother called.

"She did it… she actually did it! She turned on the computer! I'm in!" Van looked up with his eyes shining. "How much longer till we are there?"

"I'm taking another direction. We should be at the base in a few minutes."

"Wha-wait, what direction? Base? Where are you going?"

"This is the fastest way. If we drove, it would take an hour through traffic alone."

Van frowned from the back seat, but went quiet.

What was Folken planning?

* * *

The golden woman held the can of gas in her hand, her face smiling beautifully. Walking through the round doors, her eyes flicked to the security station that stood at the right. All four guards on duty had their eyes glued to the reception's computer screen. She stifled a laugh at the wild look in their faces. Their porn got interrupted by Van's juggernauts, it seemed. She wondered briefly where their names were on the list of spilled secrets.

They didn't even notice her walk by. She stopped by locked double doors and dropped the gas with a dull _thud. _Reaching into her boot, she took out a small key and unlocked the door. The IT security systems stood before her like the shining lights of a city. Each one a miniature skyscraper.

Her amber eyes flicked onto a USB slot.

"'The Dragon', huh?" she chuckled, pulling out the black metal Drive from her top. With a simple finger, she pushed it in and instantly the lights in the systems went out one by one as The Dragon spread its deadly wings. "I take back what I said." She laughed, already hearing screams from outside the room. "You are one badass dragon, Van Fanel. Let's get some flames going to match it."

Whistling, she'd just left the room and picked up her can of gasoline as several IT Specialists raced to the door.

"Th-There's a white dragon on my screen! It's burning my files!"

"I've lost control all my computer systems!"

"Me too!"

"What the hell happened with the doors and windows!?"

"Why are we in lockdown?!"

"What do you mean?"

"Look! Look at the window right there! We can't get out!"

"First the internet leaks all our files and now _this?_ What the fuck is going on?"

"No one can override the leak! Everything is shut down! Oh, God, are we trapped in here?"

"Like little mice in a mouse-trap," she murmured with a giggle. Walking down the hallway, she slowly began pouring the gasoline on the cream carpet. Everyone ignored her, their own problems the forefront of their minds. It was almost too easy. The second floor was where her gas mask was. She knew she should wait till she had it to begin the flames… but she couldn't _wait _any longer! A soft moan escaped her full lips as a tremble of excitement washed through her.

Bringing the trail all the way to the stairway, she opened the door and turned back reaching into her top.

Matches.

Better keep her matches on hand, right, Naru-Naru?

* * *

The screen flickered once more to reveal another execution order signed in Dornkirk's hand. He sat watching the television as if in a trance. The smile was continually stretched on his lips showing his white straight teeth. His head tilted ever so slightly as if in calm contemplation, a long blond hair fluttered into his face.

Van Fanel… what a simple name. Three syllables. Five consonances and three vowels. Just a normal name.

And yet he had become the closest person to ever rivaling Allen's talent. He was a powerhouse of madness. A man of true excellence. Allen wondered briefly if circumstances were changed. If he had listened to his sister's advice and not followed the path that lead him here, if he had just stuck it out with his old IT job at his father's law firm and he met Van Fanel randomly on the street. If he had struck up a conversation with the man, could they actually become friends? Could they ever join forces and work as a team? Be the founding Fathers of the world's most horrific cybernetic terrorism the world has never seen?

"Of course, not!" Allen answered his own thoughts with a laugh. "He is my enemy and my rival. Even in…" His blue eyes softened as he thought of the warmth that had come from her skin as he touched her sides. The sharp snap of her teeth as she bit his lip. The fear in her eyes as he laid on top of her.

Van may have brought an army, but Allen held the most important piece in this game they played. And if it was terrorism Van wanted, Allen would give it to him personally.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me…"

Folken placed Van on the leather seat and ran back to the car to get his wheelchair. Loading up the chair, he hurried to gather Van's electronic equipment.

"Thankfully, the X-49 is designed to carry more weight than normal. Too much more, however, and we can't lift off." His brother said dumping the supplies in the back seat.

"Wait, wait, wait, hand me that small black box there, the computer, and that silver and blue cord. I need those at least." Van demanded quickly.

Handing him the computer, Folken slid the door closed and hurried to the pilot seat. He buckled in.

"Fasten that seat belt."

Van, his mouth open, followed his brother's actions with awe.

"You… you are going to explain."

"I was trained years ago when helicopters were still used for stealth missions. She was smart to think of it. These models in particular are pretty quiet."

Van mouth was still hanging open. "You know how to fucking fly?!"

His brother met his eyes, mahogany on mahogany. And suddenly they lightened.

"You're not the only one with skills, Vanny-boy," he smirked, using Van's old nickname. "Better put on that helmet under your seat."

Sticking the key in the ignition, Folken's fingers flicked on switches and suddenly they were slowly taking off from the ground.

"Please tell me you know how to land as well…" Van gasped his stomach dropping to his feet as the world was left behind.

Folken, not realizing his smile had grown further on his face, said, "I thought you were a 'Dragon' or something. Don't tell me a 'Dragon' is afraid of heights."

"That's only on the web. And I believe the word is: '_d__ying_… a 'Dragon' is afraid of _dying_…"

His lips stretched further. "You are not dying today, Van. Not on my watch."

"Comforting coming from you…"

* * *

"_The Alchemy Bomb they had dropped had done minimal damage to the battleship despite it being several miles away from the blast. And now, the second-in-command's announcement was exactly what the General had waited to hear. _

'_The Zaibach armies are withdrawing!' _

'_Ha!' The Jokian General barked loudly his face still pouring sweat. 'With the bulk of its forces destroyed, Zaibach is finally good as gone! And exactly what is going to happen after this victory will be the most important to Joko!' He turned his head to the pilot and roared, 'Change course! Head for Grarer!'_

'_Huh?' the man responded dumbfounded. _

'_You heard me! That's where the last of the Alliance survived the blast. We'll strike down those pigs while we still can!'_

_He wasn't the only one with this thought. Down below, voices could be heard declaring war on each other. _

_The message was clear: With Zaibach gone, who will reign as supreme ruler?_

_Banners raised and chests thrust out proudly, each man turned to his ally and stabbed. For the exaltation of the individual or king or country. The few, who should have been grateful to have been spared from the Alchemy Bomb, now rose up even higher with blood in their eyes. _

'_It is time for the great men of Sezarrio to rise up and take Gaea's leadership! Crush them!'_

'_The wretches! If it weren't for us we wouldn't have won! Give no quarter! Destroy them!'_

'_Enemy attack! It's Joko!'_

'_Sezarrio! You traitorous fiend!'_

_The ground trembled as feet stomped to the attack. Everywhere, Guymelefs shattered, blood rained down, and numerous voices cried out in agony and glory. Nothing could stop the rampage. _

_This was the world's wish granted._

_A grey Guymelef struck an attacking Alliance member down before turning to stab another soldier. 'Gah!' Knight growled. 'So the bond that held together the Alliance is gone, huh?'_

_Above him, his crew looked down from the levee ship; their faces full of confusion and fear. _

'_My God, what the hell are they doing down there?' Gadeth breathed, his hands on the window. 'They are fighting each other!' _

'_Hey, Sarge, take a look at the Joko levee ship!' One of the crew cried out. Gadeth turned with a gasp. _

_Coming up hard on the right was a monstrous ship. 'Look at those Austurian bastards! Swat them out of the sky!' the Jokian General snorted._

'_Take us down, Kyo!' Gadeth roared as the enemy ship barreled into their right wing. _

'_They nailed us!' the Pilot screamed, turning the wheel to desperately regain their altitude. _

'_We lost a levee stone!' _

'_Take us in NOW!' Gadeth bellowed and the ship took a crashing dive to the ground. With six men pulling on the right backward thrusters, they skidded dangerously to the ground and immediately rushed to put out the fires. _

_Meanwhile, only little bit a ways, many men began to take notice of the famous Guymelef Escaflowne. The king soon found himself surrounded by soldiers of all different countries. 'What!? What are you men doing!? Zaibach's our enemy! Stop fighting!' Escaflowne was hit from the front and the king felt his ribs sear with pain as a result. Gasping, he raised his sword just in time to save another blow. _

_The girl, deep in Zaibach, fell to her knees as her vision wavered. She saw the king's fear. 'What's going on!?' the girl shouted to the ghostly old man. 'Why… why are the allies fighting each other?'_

'_Their emotions make it so.' The Emperor answered gently, his deep eyes still focused on the machine. _

_The fires of wreckage burned. The smoke creating a blanket of smothering heat. A strangler of the Sezarrio Legion twisted in his broken Guymelef and violently slaughtered yet another wounded soldier. 'Ha!' he laughed. 'Picking off the weaklings is a piece of cake!' Suddenly, he saw the smoke waver strangely to his left. Turning curiously, his last thought before enteral blackness was, 'A scarlet Guymelef? I thought Zaibach had retreated…'_

_On and on, the red Guymelef stabbed, speared, and dismembered men – never caring whether it was friend or foe. The streams of silver liquid striking like a deadly snake from Cremma Claws. Reveling in the shrieks of agony and death, a familiar cackling laugh could be heard from inside the control chamber._

'_Thankfully, my war isn't over yet,' the boy grinned happily. 'I'm coming for you, Escaflowne!'_

_The girl gasped, her mind's eye watching all the destruction and death. _

'_The zone of absolute fortune, which has granted everyone their wishes, has merely made the fighting worse…' the old man mused. 'Why can't these foolish people let go of the destiny war? Do they actually wish to fight for the rest of their lives?' _

'_They… they can't…' she whispered._

_Outside of the Grarer, Jajuka broke free of three different Guymelef soldiers that had surrounded him and shot a Cremma Claw into each chamber. 'No, no, I've lost sight of Lord Dilandau…' Filled with worry, his memories of a sweet blond child made his concern only increase further. She was just a little child. She had always been a little child. She was always kept alone and locked away. She was his responsibility. _

_And now Dilandau was his as well._

'_I must find him…' Tossing the Guymelef into flight mode, he took off from the wreckage and soared into the morning sky._

_The heavens over Zaibach was still a sick green. Gathering clouds broke with crashes of lightning. _

'_You've got to stop that machine!' the girl shouted. 'Please! Make the fighting stop!'_

'_Impossible. Once set in motion, fate can't be stopped. If it is destruction people wish for we can do nothing but accept it.'_

_The lightning rapidly increased, spreading its violent wings over the brightening morning sky. It tossed over the barren mountainside like the reaper of death._

_Not too far away, the king parried yet another blow from an assailant and threw the metal body to the ground. Plunging his sword into the chamber, he was wheezing with fatigue. But then a familiar flash of silver caught his eye and he immediately straightened back up with his sword to the ready. Sticking out the backside of a Jokian Guymelef, the claws whistled out of the broken heap and back into a scarlet Cremma Claw. _

'_It's the red Guymelef…' he panted, his sword point shaking slightly._

_The lightning flashed behind Dilandau as he cackled. 'Oh, King of Fanelia, I've been searching and I finally found you!' Raising his left claw, the hand completely opened up to spray eight pressure claws straight towards the Escaflowne. The king grunted as he tried to block each one, but they were coming in too quick. With a snarling roar, he sliced off three upcoming claws and managed to barely escape the rest. Stepping into his range, the scarlet Guymelef retracted the claws and instantly molded them into a sword._

'_Come on, then, Your Highness! Let's GO!'_

_Moving to the right to avoid Dilandau's deadly swipe, the king noticed the boy's other hand molding into yet another sword. Flipping his own blade to his other hand, he champed the sharp point of his sword into the pressure holder in the arm and the scarlet Guymelef's molded sword melted. He pressed on the blade and the Cremma Claw arm broke off with a solid CRUNCH._

_The king immediately switched the sword back to his right hand and hit the red Guymelef at the joined knees. It also sliced away. _

_Dilandau screamed as he went tumbling to the ground unbalanced. Tossing up his left – and only – Cremma Claw, he shot the Escaflowne. _

_With the skill he'd acquired through his dangerous life, the king slashed through each one of Dilandau's attacks and rushed forward with a terrifying roar. Another solid hit and the other arm was gone. _

_Dilandau, the red Guymelef, was completely defenseless._

_The king raised his sword high over his head. _

_His wish singing loudly in his ears. _

_Justice, revenge, a bloody death paid for the lives of his people. _

_He drove his sword down-_

_And a grey Zaibachian Guymelef suddenly rushed into his way and took the hit._

'_Wha… Jajuka!' The voice from the scarlet mecha screamed._

'_Lord Dilandau, please, you'll be okay!' The dog swallowed down his whimper as the heat of his destroyed Guymelef began to burn his fur. 'Lord Dilandau, please turn back into her! Turn back to that gentle lady!' The blue flames engulfed him and he fell to the ground in a pile of melted rubble. _

'_J-Jajuka…' Dilandau's memories sprang forth, covering his vision of the advancing Escaflowne. A canine man with food and kind words. A canine man who came to visit, so she wouldn't be alone. They had beaten Jajuka as he fought for her. When they took her… Selena… they took her away for the experiments… Jajuka had tried to save her._

_As he sat in the shredded red Guymelef, his crimson eyes flickered. Hints of purple changing to touches of blue. He cried out, but his voice wasn't the same. It was higher. _

'_Jajuka,' he whispered his eyes growing increasingly blue. 'Don't leave me alone.'_

'_It's time to end this,' the king snarled, unaware of what was happening. Positioning his sword for the charge, he pointed it right at the control chamber. He took off for the kill._

_The girl saw the king's anger. 'Please, no!' she screamed and her voice rang in his mind through their connection. He faltered two steps and was blocked once more. A blade had rose to meet his._

_The blade of another grey Guymelef. This one, however, was very familiar…_

'_Knight,' the king said, his thoughts growing blank. Why was Knight defending their enemy? Why was Knight stopping him?_

'_Put down your sword!' Knight shouted his blade grading with sparks. _

'_No! He'll keep killing! He'd obsessed with it!' The king roared back pressing on the hilt harder. 'I kill him and I'll remove the source of evil on Gaea!'_

'_You're wrong! You're never going to end evil's hatred by simply striking down Dilandau!'_

_The king growled and broke the stand-off. 'My country was destroyed because of him! How can you understand my grief!?'_

'_I won't let you regardless! You'll have to go through me! Because… because Dilandau is my sister!'_

_The king gave a hard strike to Knight's right and he barely had time to parry. _

'_Knight! Have you gone mad!?'_

'_All of her crimes are my crimes. Even if she was controlled by Zaibach's black magic. Don't hold back! Strike at me with everything you've got! Face me, King of Fanelia!' The king once again broke the stand-off and backed away several steps at Knight's declaration. 'I, Knight, Soldier of Caeli, will fight you to the last breath in my body!'_

_Knight tossed his sword in the air and it flipped beautifully to land in his hand. Knight pointed his sword and the king rose to meet him. Sparks sizzled and their weapons cracked in the air as they collided like strikes of lightning. Knight struck to the left and the king blocked immediately. The king changed to an overhead slice only to have Knight dodge just in time._

_Climbing over a barren hill, Gadeth and Knight's crew watching in horror as their commander and the King of Fanelia attacked each other with a blinding frenzy. _

'_My God, they look like they are going at it for real!' One of them shouted._

'_You got that right,' Gadeth's mouth screwed with a mixture of fear and distaste. 'And by the looks of it, they won't be done until one of them is dead.'_

_The girl held her pendant, feeling the king's rage… and something else… pleasure? Her vision swam to see the two Guymelefs locked in hard combat. 'Oh, no, no! Why are they fight each other? This is insanity!'_

_The old Emperor appeared at her side. 'Because it is their wish…'_

'_No, stop!' she called, trying to touch the king through their connection. 'Please, stop it!'_

_The king heard none of her pleas, but was diving further and further into his anger, his resentment, his dark madness. This man, this man standing before him was the reason he couldn't finish Dilandau off! To rid the world of this dark evil! Knight was the one who kept him from going back to Fanelia so long ago. Knight was the one who stole the girl he loved most. He was always there. Always in the way. Everything was always about Knight. Well, now Knight had declared his battle intention and it gave the king joy to slash at him. To see sparks fly from the right side of his shoulder where the king had pierced his grey Guymelef. _

'_You seem to have become surprisingly better,' Knight's voice rang out from the control chamber. 'I'm glad!' The blond man drove the point of his sword forward and the king snapped his blade along Knight's while simultaneously dodging the attack. His sword pricked Knight's wrist and almost made the blond man drop it. _

'_That was a nice block,' the king responded, seeing the lack of damage his attack caused. 'How can you control a Guymelef so well?' They slashed, they parried, their swords sang as they crossed over and over; each time sparks tossing high in the air. 'You're good. I knew you would be!' the king roared._

'_What a fine pilot you've become. You actually remind me of Balgus!' Knight leapt in the air just in time to avoid the king's low strike. Bringing his sword down, Knight was surprised to yet again see the white Guymelef blocking his attack. _

'_You see,' the Emperor said to her as they looked on. 'This is their wish. It has been granted. They are so happy here in the zone of absolute fortune.'_

_She watched on in silent horror. Her voice unable to reach him… her connection with the king dissolving…_

_Behind them, completely forgotten, a figure emerged from the scarlet mecha. Holding her golden curled head, she groaned as she slipped down from the control chamber and landed hard on the ground. Her dazed blue eyes slowly cleared and she stood on shaking feet. Feeling something strapped on her forehead, she pulled it off and blinked in surprise. Two giant metal monsters were locked in combat right before her eyes. Through her swimming mind, she saw the grey monster block another attack. Her eyes blinked and she saw a man with long blond hair. His handsome face contorted in anger. She stared harder and her mind flashed to a yellow meadow. A young boy with matching long hair turned to her with delight._

'_Sister!...'_

'_B-brother…' she whispered. She took several steps closer, her red and black armor too big for her body. She saw the grey Guymelef knock the white off-balance. She saw the stroke of his blade nearing the white's chest._

'_Brother, NO!' she screamed. _

_Knight stopped abruptly; his anger suddenly shattered. Turning, he saw her standing only several yards away. _

'_Sister…?'_

'_Please, Brother!'_

_The Escaflowne had recovered. The king, noticing Knight's fighting spirit had been lost, charged forward for the kill._

'_STOP!' the girl shrieked, her desperation finally breaking into the king's mind. _

_She reached for him._

_His hand stopped just as the blade crushed the top of Knight's Guymelef. The king couldn't move it. He was frozen. _

'_Don't fight,' he heard her as if she was right beside him. Blinking, his vision changed to a wavering blue. The battlefield, the lightning, even the grey Guymelef had all disappeared. He was no longer in his cock-pit in the Escaflowne, but floating as if weightless. And holding his right arm tightly was-_

'_Why are you here?' He barked at her. 'What are you doing?'_

'_It's all because of the Emperor's machine!' the girl cried. _

'_The Emperor?'_

'_Yes! And the bad fate won't stop! Gaea will end up exactly the same way Atlantis did!'_

_The rage was still deep in his red eyes. 'Alright, I'll settle things with Knight and then I'll go kill the Emperor!'_

'_No! You don't have to fight anymore!'_

'_I'm the one who's going to end this war! I'll avenge my people and then I'll come and save you!'_

'_Stop it!' she shouted. 'These are the emotions that are causing all the fighting!'_

_The bit of his anger left as he said, 'Don't you get it? I'm fighting to protect you!'_

_Her arms tightened on his wrist. 'I never asked you to. There's no reason for you to fight Knight.'_

_The muscles on his forearm constricted as the anger returned at the mention of Knight. 'Oh, now I see! You're just worried about Knight! He's all you have ever cared about!'_

'_Wh-What?' she blinked as if slapped. 'N-No, why can't you understand anything that I'm saying!?'_

_As she spoke the words, her grip left his arm and she fell through him; landing on her knees. He stumbled slightly and caught himself. He kept his back to her, his mind in a turmoil. He heard the tears on her voice as she said, 'I worry about you so much. I… I care about you so much. Why can't you just understand?' The king turned around just as she turned her head to him. His eyes were still stiff with rage, but he was clearer than before. He took a step towards her and the world began to fade back into the battlefield. _

'_Wait!' he called stretching out his hand. She rushed forward to grab his fingers, but he disappeared. _

'_No…' she whispered. 'No, please…'_

'_Don't worry. It will be alright if you believe,' a familiar deep voice resonated._

'_S-Stratego?' she whispered. She heard him as if he was speaking in her very thoughts; as if he was a part of her very essence. _

'_People's emotions sometimes move the heavens, but when those emotions conflict it can cause great ill-will. If people can just rid themselves of that they can change.'_

'_I-I can change? Conflicting emotions…' the scene around her changed to tangling cords wrapped together. Her feelings, her emotions… _

_Her green eyes widened. And then she understood._

'_I get it. My emotions bind him. With all the care that I have for him, I trust in him.' Her lips raised into a soft smile as she whispered, 'I think I… I think that I…love him…' _

_As she said the words, the cords in front of her began to untangle. 'I love him…' she said again, and closed her eyes tightly. 'The smell of the field… it's his smell… I know now… I love him so much…' _

_The king's sat in the control chamber, his right hand was still frozen as if she had continued to hold his arm. His stomach burned, his forehead beaded with hot sweat. But like a quiet whisper, he felt his body begin to cool. His fiery rage quenching as if a gentle hand was applying a cooling balm. It washed over his entire body. And in the light of his calming mind, he heard her saying:_

'_I'm sorry. I was the one who didn't understand. I get it now. Please… please forgive me for taking so long.'_

_And then he blinked. His right hand was free… Knight's grey Guymelef stood before him. His blade smashed in the helmet._

_With a deep breath, he withdrew his sword and the mecha fell backwards with an earth-trembling thud. _

_Instantly, the control chamber popped open and Knight came rushing forth. 'Sister!'_

_The king opened his face mask and watched with a gasp of surprise._

_A woman, standing in Dilandau's red armor, trembled as her brother rushed forward. 'Brother… you're my brother…' she whispered. As his arms enclosed around her small body, she grew faint. He supported her gently. _

'_You know me,' he said softly._

'_Brother… brother, I missed you…' her blue eyes were shimmering with tears._

'_I'm so glad,' he murmured into her hair as he hugging her tightly. 'I'm so glad you are back to me. I-I'll never leave you alone again.' Turning his head, he shouted up at the Escaflowne, 'I thought I heard her voice. That girl… she's waiting for you… Go to her, King of Fanelia.'_

_The king was still, his mahogany eyes watching the sweet reunion of two siblings – and then he smiled. _

_With a nod, he tossed the Escaflowne into dragon mode and flew off into the dark sky._

'_Wow! It's…It's a white dragon!' Knight's sister cried out."_

* * *

Van held on the sides of his seat, his knuckles turning white. The thick computer in his lap was momentarily forgotten.

"What can you do now that the computer is on?" Folken asked through his headset.

The black-haired man swallowed down his rising bile and decided to close his eyes for several seconds to stop his spinning head. "Lights, locks, and security cameras. The computer she turned on was my way into the entire mainframe of the building."

"You'll trap him and I'll shoot him? Sounds like a plan."

"The only thing is, he has-"

"Your girl, yeah."

Van opened the laptop and reached down for the blue and white cord. As soon as it was plugged in the computer, his fingers were once again flying.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm readying the program to freeze his security cameras." Van answered. "I'll activate it as soon as we are ready to go in. How much longer till we land?"

"We will be there in roughly ten minutes."

"Okay."

A silence fell over the two of them. It held an uncomfortable vibe.

"Do you love her?"

Van was startled from typing his code and instantly felt a strange nervous twinge in his stomach as if he was a teenager confessing his first love. Swallowing down the stupid reaction, he snapped, "What do you think?"

"Why?"

"Why, what?"

"Why do you love her?"

"Folken, what makes you think you have the right to ask me anything about my life? You tried to end it several times, remember?"

"I am atoning for my sins."

"Try atoning a little harder then."

"Van… I am about to die."

His blunt words hit Van like a punch in the gut and he turned to stared hard at his older brother's aged face. "Nothing will pay for the pain and death I have caused. Helping you save her is the only thing I can do for you. Whether I die by Allen, or by my own hand, this will probably be the last time we can speak together as brothers."

"You're going to kill yourself?" Van's voice was hard on the words.

Folken nodded calmly. "I told you before. I don't expect to live through this. My death is another price I am going to pay. But before then, I want to know about her. I want to know why you love her. I want to know how you met her. I want to know her through your eyes."

For the first time since he saw him walk through the hospital doors, Van looked at his brother. He really looked at him. He saw the heavy lines around his mouth and the shallowness of his cheeks. He saw the sliver streaks in his light hair and the bags under his sharp eyes. And for the first time in over a decade, Van felt a strange sort of companionship with his brother. The invisible connection that had once been severed was beginning to form. The black haired man turned his head just as Folken glanced over at his younger brother with the same strange feeling of camaraderie. There was another slice of silence before:

"She was my nurse after you got done pumping lead in my head. I didn't really have anyone coming to visit thanks to you destroying and killing everyone I knew. Not like our dead parents were coming either. She… She… ah, damn it! I don't want to talk about it!" Van shouted and shamefully felt his cheeks burn.

"Would it help if I said, 'please'?"

"No! There are some things I don't want to talk about to my psychotic brother and I think this is top of the list!"

"So, she was your nurse," Folken continued completely ignoring Van's insult. "I'm surprised they didn't hire someone from the company to keep an eye on you."

"That's where Allen comes into the picture. He was keeping an eye on me from afar by dating her."

"Did you love her from the very beginning?"

"Damn it! Piss off, Folken!"

"Or did you gradually love her?"

"I was kind of in a coma at the beginning, so thanks for that!"

"Then this is recent."

"No, you bastard! I could _hear_ while I was in the coma. I just couldn't move or speak or tell her I was there." Van's anger cooled as he remembered. "Regardless, she would come in on her break time at night and read to me. She didn't want me to be alone. She would…" his face reddened. "She would make up voices for the characters in her book…" He shot Folken a glare as if he'd laugh, but he didn't. Surprisingly, his brother's mahogany eyes turned sad. "When you tried to kill me the second time, I was almost done for. I almost gave up. But she came to my side and called me back."

"Tell me about the first time you saw her."

"No."

The silence came back and Van groaned in annoyance.

"The first time I saw her was in my mind while I was still in the coma. She told me she had short hair and she seemed weirdly self-conscious about it. That was when I tried to form some sort of vision of her. I started noticing little things that helped me piece together a picture."

"What kind of things?"

"Just… I don't know… _things_! Like when she smiled, I felt it."

"What did it feel like?"

"Warm… and soft… and it made me happy just to know it was there. And that I'd somehow caused the smile."

"And what about when you finally physically saw her? How was your mental picture compared to the real thing?"

"Folken, I _really_ don't want to talk about this." Van said with an edge of finality. "I don't want to talk to you like this. It's weird and unsettling and I kind of hate you."

"For what it's worth, I like her," his brother said softly. "I like her just by what you've told me."

"I didn't ask for your approval!"

"You have it anyway. She sounds like she has a higher perception of the world."

"Unlike _some people_," Van scowled.

"Exactly… not like me or even you… we are darker, harder, and more in tune with the evil of the world. It seems to be a part of who we are. But just from the small amount you've told me, I can already see it. She's a light, Van. A light that has already gotten you out of our darkness." He reached over to flip another switch and Van felt a small jolt in his stomach as the helicopter began to descend towards a large patch of small buildings.

"How insightful of you." Van tried to roll his eyes, but found that he couldn't. It was strange how much his brother said was true. Van had said that very thing to Hitomi only days ago. The entire world around him was evil. But to her… to her everything had a sense of goodness.

Of morality.

Folken let out low breath and said, "I know what I'm talking about. I found my light too late."

"_Your_ light? You had someone?" Van asked in surprise.

"In a sense."

"What happened to her?"

His brother's deep mahogany eyes grew cold and dangerous.

"Allen shot her in the head."

* * *

The flames were so greedy, so needy.

The Dragon had taken out the sprinkler system, every phone cordless or no, and fried all their software. It flew through the mainframe, destroying everything in its path. And through the chaos, she was the physical hand of The Dragon.

She was the flame of judgment that went with it.

She was in ecstasy in the brilliant burn. Her world was turning to a delicious mix of red, orange, and grey. Aligned with The Dragon, they were a force together. And she was consumed body and soul. They ate everything that stood in their pathway. Mercilessly clawing the flesh off charred bones. The blacken crackle of skin peeling away. The apocalypse. She stopped as a computer flashed. The Dragon's pale shadow had flown across it, blistering all the files within.

Oh, God, she felt the tingles of a thrilling orgasm seize all over her legs and arms. A man came towards her and she drenched him in gasoline followed by a match. She watched panting heavily through her mask as his body writhed on the floor; catching even more of the wall on fire.

She was such hot passion. Her back arched in the drowning heat. Tossing the rest of the gas violently down the hallway, she shivered and let out a cry of frenzied lust.

But this was just the beginning.

Oh, there was so much more to come.

And she was coming... rising higher and higher with each passing floor.

There was no escape.

No escape for anyone.

* * *

"_The green light was still erupting from the castle. The clouds were still fighting violently fighting, but the sound of the old man's voice was one of defeat. "So, in the end, I was unable to control the fate," he said softly. The brilliant orb of light from the fate alteration engine sparkled lightly as he sighed. 'A failure… just as I could not produce gold from alchemy.'_

'_You've given up then?' The girl asked strongly._

'_Hmm?' the Emperor turned questioningly and was surprised to see her green eyes clear and solid. There was a quiet smile on her lips._

'_There's something that I've learned. I don't believe in predetermined fate.' _

_The white dragon soared over the armies that continued to slaughter each other. The king glanced down with understanding eyes. 'An agitated heart calls the dragons,' he remembered. 'Hate and fear create conflict.' _

_Suddenly, the pink jewel on the Escaflowne flickered brightly before sputtering out. _

_And the white dragon took a deep plunging dive to the ground."_

* * *

Folken had switched in stealth mode for the landing and gently touched ground in an abandoned parking lot. A much easier experience than the take-off had been. Van tucked the black router, the blue and white cord, and his laptop into his wheel chair and he followed Folken as fast as his wheels would allow. The buildings around were all identical and very close knitted together. Square and painted a pale grey, the entire area had a sad abandoned feeling about it. Several walls sported bits of colorful graffiti. Others had boarded windows and heavy locks.

"Strange place for a hacker to keep his setup." Folken said looking down the street. His hand was already unzipping the hidden pouch in his coat.

"This isn't where he'd setup. This is where he would hide in case he was broken." Van panted, his arms still weak from the hospital. "I have completely disarmed him and outed his systems. He has nowhere else to go, but try to hole up in a physical location in the city. Too bad for him. I found him."

Folken held out an arm and motioned for Van to follow. Together, they quickly headed for a small alleyway.

"According to your tracker, he's in this building in front of us." Folken whispered, nodding to a blue grey door across the street. "Pull up that computer and get rid of these cameras."

"Done," Van said as he pressed ENTER and the screen tossed up several confirmations. "They're frozen. It looks like the alarmed door in the third floor safe room is open and the lights are on. He must be in there. What's the plan?"

His brother's face twisted into a dangerous smile. "I take him out." He said swiftly and made a move to leave the alleyway.

Van reached up and grabbed Folken's arm. "Wait, you idiot, if he's with Hitomi then he's probably going to use her as a hostage. We need to distract him away from her. You can't go barging in through the front door."

His dark brother let go a long sigh. "Got any ideas then?"

Van stopped for a moment before an identical dangerous smile spread over his lips.

"Just give me thirty seconds…"

* * *

_The king gasped as the white dragon powered down. 'No, Escaflowne!' he cried as he struggled to keep airborne. 'That fate machine is affecting it!'_

_His vision winked and he saw her. Her smiling face, her happy eyes. _

_She was calling…_

_With a sharp cry, he let go of the controls and his wings burst forth into the air. 'I only have one wish now…' he thought sharply. 'My wish is to be with you…'_

_Feathers danced down from the storming sky. White feathers of pure unselfishness._

_White feathers of pure love._

* * *

The blue screen on the computer was horribly bright and Hitomi had to shield her eyes from the light, but the feeling of relief was overwhelming.

She knew she had saved herself with this.

She knew, somehow, Van was coming for her.

"Van…" she whispered to the computer. "Please, come and get me."

Suddenly, the door to her room began to beep.

With a strangled gasp, she turned around and used her sore fingers to click off the monitor screen. It turned black. She hurried to sit back down on the couch just as the door slid –

She barely made it -

He stood; the lights snapped on once more and she saw him smiling at her from the threshold.

Like a young boy smiling at his favorite puppy.

"You've stopped crying." The blond said sweetly. "I always pictured myself holding you while you cried."

"Allen…" Hitomi said shakily, racking her brain to distract him. The low hum of the desktop engine could still be heard. It was faint, but it was there. "Why are you doing this? I thought you wanted a relationship with me. I… I was serious when we were together. When we met New Year's Eve, I thought I'd found someone special."

"I'm stopping you right there, Super Nurse," Allen said holding a hand up. He moved into the room and came closer to her couch. She immediately zeroed in on the fact the door was still open. "I can't help, but notice you never let me kiss you. If I was so special, why did you always shy away from me? You even bit me earlier."

Hitomi let out a small whimper, and he laughed happily. He came to sit on the couch and immediately leaned in close to her face. She instantly backed away and her head hit the backrest of the sofa.

"See what I mean?" He whispered, his breath hot on neck. A tear slipped from her eye as she turned her face away from him. She felt his hands slowly coming down on her thighs and choked back a sob.

"Oh, wonderful, I do get to hold you while you cry," Allen's chuckled softly.

Suddenly, a loud _BOOM _resounded from outside the room. Both Allen and Hitomi jumped at the sound. He turned to the open doorway distracted and she made a split decision.

She drew her head back and smashed her forehead into his temple as hard as she could. Despite the winking stars in her vision, she saw Allen gasped and reeled backwards – just enough for her to slip past him.

Leaping from the couch, she raced to the open doorway.

She'd just taken a step outside the room when she felt his arms circle her body from behind and crush her against him.

"You little bitch!"

"Let go of me! Help! Someone, please!" she screamed.

"Stay in there!" Allen roared and he threw her violently back into the safe room. She hit the desk hard and fell to the floor. Pain racked her body and her ears were ringing. The door closed and darkness fell into the room.

But she heard the worst sound of them all –

The desktop computer crashing to the floor.

* * *

The top floor was already on fire. She brushed past the flames easily. Oh, it was so easy now. She had touched the fire several times and it was not screams of agony that burst from her lips. Red whelps of charred flesh hung from her arms and legs, and yet she felt none of the pain. Only the hot pleasure.

It was so warm.

The door was open. Several dead bodies laid within; their fingernails leaving bloody scratches against the metal windows. They were all trapped. She almost had another orgasm just looking at their faces of terror. It was a filthy desire beyond pleasure. A sickness. The flames followed her in the room as she walked on.

She turned to the closed door, wondering. Was he still in? Was he dead already?

"No, no, no… not from Belle-Belle…you shouldn't be dead already…" she sighed into the mask. "You created Belle-Belle and Naru-Naru… your daughters… your play-things."

Approaching from down the hallway, the new can of gas spilled slightly from her fingers. A flaming trail followed her pathway as she walked to the devil's den and opened his door.

There he was. Alive. His eyes wild. His security gone. Everything was in ashes now.

"Hello, daddy," she waved from the doorway, spilling more gas into the doorway.

"Belle…" the old man hissed straightening with a sharp cough. "Come to save me?"

"Save you! Oh, daddy! Like you saved Naru-Naru?" she asked innocently through the mask as the fire traveled to her feet. She stepped further into the room and the doorway roared in flames. They were trapped now. Trapped together. She felt the heat inside her soul rising with the wall of fire. "No, you didn't save her, daddy. And now my fucking leash is off. My innocence had its fucking face blown off. And I'm with The Dragon now."

He was trembling, his white beard shaking. He coughed again. "The Dragon…"

"That's right! You saw it, didn't you? You saw it obliterate your files! You saw the stolen information on the internet for all to see!? Oh, God, daddy, tell me you saw it! Tell me you feel The Dragon's laughing flame!"

"You're crazy…"

"I'm alive! I'm fucking alive and Naru's dead!" she giggled happily, her voice breaking through the mask. "Naru let a worm in! And look who let The Dragon in!?" she laughed loudly. "It was _me_! It was all _me_!"

"I should have killed you along with Naru, Belle," the old man snarled standing up. His wrinkled hand fumbled for a drawer. "I should have ordered you gone as soon as she was put down."

She threw the gas can hard into his frail body and it exploded the liquid all over his suit. The drawer was open and he reached for the gun just as she threw the match.

It was an explosion. Her breath was lost as the bullet punched through the mask and drilled into her smiling skull.

Likewise, his body burst into righteous flames.

Dornkirk's dying screams were the last ones heard in the building.

And then all fell silent except for the crackling of laughing fire.

The White Dragon's fire.

* * *

_The king's feathers fell among the conflicting soldiers. Startled and confused, their feverish minds softened in the wake of this strange sight. _

_A soldier, his clothes bloodstained, dropped his sword as his mouth opened in awe. _

"_A dragon…" he breathed. "It's a white dragon… It's flying away…"_

* * *

"Shit! The computer is down!" Van announced. "The light turned off and the door shut to the safe room!"

"Do you think she's still in there?" Folken asked.

"The computer broke after as the door shut. There's a high possibility she's still there. My little distraction for Allen must have worked. He's locked her up again."

"Do you still have control of the building even with the computer broken?"

"Yes, but we gotta move fast. I'm sure he knows we are here."

"What was the distraction?" Folken asked.

"I overheated the security camera stationed outside. It blew up."

The wind outside blustered chilly and foreboding down his back. Van glanced up at Folken just as his older brother looked down at him.

"It's time I do my part then. I'll go take care of Allen."

A weird feeling crept up in Van as he watched his brother turn and hurry across the street. His black jacket billowed out around his ankles, his broad shoulders curved forward in stealth.

A gun… _the _gun… ready and waiting in his thin fingers.

Suddenly, Van was on the move before he even processed his thoughts. His wheelchair bounced on the unsteady potholes in the street, but he pushed his arms faster. As Folken pressed his back against the front of the building, his mahogany eyes widened as he saw Van whizzing right beside him.

"What are you doing?"

Van opened his computer once more and Folken heard a loud _BOOM_ echo from inside. Van nodded up to his brother.

"I'm not letting you die that easily. I still have to kick your ass, remember?"

* * *

"_He flew to her, the wind pushing on his back; increasing his speed. Everywhere the sky poured lightning, destiny fighting causality, fate fighting the natural balance. He dodged the attacks, his feathers still spreading further and further to the West._

_To Zaibach."_

* * *

"You motherfucker…" Allen hissed as the door to Hitomi's room slid close behind him. "You found me, Van Fanel?"

Another piercing explosion made the blond jump once more.

It came from the first floor.

It was the same sound…

Allen's blue eyes narrowed as a pit of fear rose in his stomach. He'd left his pistol on the second floor near the television. If there was someone coming, Allen couldn't brave the stairs, could he?

This could be all in his mind. There could be a gang war outside for all he knew. It didn't have to be Van Fanel.

He didn't know anything for certain.

He didn't know who could be waiting for him.

It could be nobody.

It could be somebody.

It could be Van Fanel.

Allen was never one to take chances.

"I am stronger than you, Van. I am just as powerful as you. You are my ultimate rival, but I will win."

Guided by his pride, he ran for the stairs.

"I will kill you. And this time, you'll stay dead!"

* * *

"_Avoiding turrets filling the air with smoke and soaring through heavy bridges made of metal, the king peered out through the industrial smog of Zaibach to a dark castle that held a brilliant green pillar of light. It was shot to the sky, making the surrounding clouds a poisonous green. _

'_Is that it?' the king whispered, his mahogany eyes going wide. Then he saw her. _

_She called to him from the castle, her arms outstretch. _

_He flew faster, his wings beating the torrent wind. _

_And went straight into the green light."_

* * *

"Go," Van whispered as he pressed ENTER. The front door clicked unlocked and his brother twisted the handle. Opening the door quietly, it squeaked on hinges.

"Stay back until I tell you." Folken murmured. He darted into threshold of the front door, his gun pointed in front of him.

"Here's hoping you're a better shot than last time…" Van joked darkly, his heart pounding in his ears. Fingers speeding through code, he pressed ENTER once more.

* * *

Allen's heart leapt to his throat as the lights in the building blinked off. He was halfway on the staircase to the second floor. With panic hitting his spiked adrenaline, the blond man jumped down the rest of the stairs and hurtled over the sofa chair to where his gun rested. Snatching up the pistol, he cocked it and let a smile grip his lips.

"Going to play me?" He hissed.

* * *

Folken's hand motioned Van to enter and he awkwardly wheeled himself into the dank room. The entire place smelled of dust and dirt. A long metal table covered in papers stood at the center of the room. Near the back, a rotten staircase was lined against the wall.

"He's on the second floor." Van whispered with the camera on his screen.

"Keep him there."

"I'll try…" He nodded and pulled up the mechanics of the camera on the third floor.

* * *

"Shutting off the lights? I know this place better than you, Van Fanel!" Allen hollered as he slowly inched his way closer to the stairs.

He gasped as another explosion erupted on the third floor.

"Where are you, you bastard!?" He roared and took the steps two at a time to the first floor.

* * *

"It didn't work! He's on the staircase!" Van hissed urgently from his computer screen. The footsteps could be heard pounding.

Folken rushed forward and grabbed the long metal table. Pushing it on its side, he crouched behind it.

"Get cover!"

Van wheeled and dove out of his chair for the floor just in time.

Allen roared like a maddened lion as he fired off three shots into the metal table.

"Duck your head!" his brother pushed Van down as he leaned over the side and let off two shots.

"Who is this!?" He heard Allen shriek. "Who the fuck did you bring with you?"

"He's going back!" Folken shouted as the footfalls stomped wildly up the steps.

"Shit, Folken, he's going for Hitomi!" Van gasped and grabbed his fallen laptop. Slipping back into the system, he saw the blond man pass the second floor.

"I'll get him!" Folken growled lowly and Van watched helplessly as his brother sprinted up the staircase after Allen.

* * *

Hitomi was blind again, the lights having switched off and her eyes full of tears.

The explosions… the screaming… the gunshots…

She stumbled to her feet and pressed her ear to the door to listen.

What was happening out there?

* * *

On Van's monitor, he saw Allen racing to the third floor and inwardly cursed his stupidity. He just _had_ to blow up the cameras! Now he couldn't see for shit! With a snarl of frustration at his lack of insight, Van racked his brain for some solution.

An idea popped in his head.

And it was probably the stupidest thing he could think of.

But, hey, if he couldn't see for shit then neither would Allen!

Slipping into the lights of the building, Van swiveled his curser to the control panel on the third floor and said a quick prayer.

Setting his curser on one million automatic clicks, he let it loose on the third floor lights.

* * *

"What… what the hell is he doing?" Folken growled under his breath as his foot slipped on the second floor's landing. The staircase above his head was in a daze of strobe lights and he heard Allen let out a holler of surprise.

"Damn it! If I go up there, I can't see for shit!"

The dark man took a deep breath of resolve and continued up the steps.

"Hitomi, I must protect her. I will save her for you. I promised you that."

* * *

Allen actually screamed as the florescent lights above his head blasted into an insane strobe light effect. Stumbling over his own feet in his panic, he almost fell to the floor as his vision was blanketed in a sea of flashing black and white.

Hearing feet stomping up the stairs, the blond turned immediately and fired four wild shots at the staircase. Hearing a grunt and a body stumbling down the steps, he let out yell of triumph.

"Got you, you son-of-a-bitch!"

* * *

Van was shambling his way to the staircase on weak legs when he heard the shots and Allen's cheer.

"Got you, you son-of-a-bitch!"

The sound of Allen made the world around Van stop.

It was as if someone hit the pause button on this moment. This harsh strangled feeling of loss.

Loud thumps of something heavy tumbling down the stairs forced him back to reality.

Instantly, Van forgot his fatigue.

He forgot his weakness.

He forgot he could barely walk.

He forgot everything.

He raced up the steps to see his brother's bloodstained chest. The gun still clutched in his warm fingers. He grabbed the gun and took the steps to the third floor.

The lights were flickering, but his mind was clear.

Then he heard her scream.

* * *

_"The king felt the painful pricks of fate beating his bare chest as soon as the green light hit him. Twisting through the streaming force of the fate alteration engine, he pushed further and further and ignored the sharp burns that pierced his tan skin. _

_He could feel her. She was so close to him. _

_He dodged through fate, paving his own destiny… _

_A destiny with her…"_

* * *

Hitomi screamed as the door to her room suddenly slid opened and a flashing light illuminated a tall, long-haired figure at the doorway. Allen stepped forward, his wild eyes on her, and she reflexively kicked. Her sneaker collided in his stomach and he stumbled backward in the main room.

"Take cover, Hitomi!" She heard Van shout and she immediately dropped to the floor.

Two loud shots rang.

* * *

"'_I'm coming!' he shouted to her as he pushed against more fate. 'Wait for me!'_

'_I knew you'd come!' she cried, her heart beating with excitement. 'I knew it!'_

'_That's impossible,' the Emperor snarled. 'Once activated, the Atlantis machine can't be stopped!'"_

* * *

"VAN!" Hitomi screamed from the floor.

The building went silent as a body fell limply to the ground.

Her eyes were squeezed shut as feet shuffled across the room closer to her.

"Hello, nurse…" The voice fell so faint in her ears she could hardly believe it.

With a gasp of surprise, she looked up to see the flickering shadow of a man with messy hair standing at the doorway.

* * *

_"He fought to the very core of fate. _

_He heard her voice calling his name._

_Covering his head with his arms, he crashed through the glowing orb of the fate alteration engine and his mahogany eyes instantly found her in the large room. Her arms were out; ready and waiting for him. Diving from the ceiling, he scooped her in his arms and she hugged him tightly. Her laughter sang into his ears as he lifted from the ground and carefully took her with him. Her left hand reached up to touch his dark hair and he buried his face in her neck; inhaling the sweet aroma of his only love._

'_This love they have for each other,' the ghost of the Emperor whispered in awe as he slowly disappeared. 'This… emotion of theirs. Does it even surpass that fate of war which is born of man? Can this single moment last forever? This moment created by two easily persuaded human hearts?'_

_The Atlantis Machine's light quieted and the gears slowly stopped turning. The king carried her through the hole in fate he'd created. Together, they rose up to the parting clouds. _

_The girl and her White Dragon."_

* * *

The flickering lights went black. The electrical circuit in the house had broken. It didn't matter.

"Come towards me," he said softly. "It's all alright now."

Slowly rising to her feet, she took a hesitant step towards the dark doorway. A warm hand grazed her stomach and she realized he was reaching out in the darkness. Hurrying past his fingertips, she came close and pressed her head on his chest. His knees buckled and he collapsed on his knees, she fell with him and his arms came up to hug her tightly.

"I'm sorry, Van," she said quietly, tears filling her eyes. Feeling his hand come up to cradle the back of her neck, she sobbed. "I'm so sorry…"

"You're okay? He didn't hurt you?" His shoulders were shaking.

"No," she whispered. "No, I'm not hurt. But how? How did you _find_ me?"

"The computer you turned on. It let me in and I tracked it. I found you. I _found_ you..." He repeated the words like they were his lifeline.

"I… I didn't tell you before b-because I wanted to p-protect you." She confessed through tears. "I knew about Allen. I knew he was us-using me to get to you. I f-found out, and I tried to stay away from you, but… but I couldn't do that, Van. I couldn't _do_ that because _I love you_."

His arms tightened even further and his breath caught in his throat.

"I love you so much." She continued. "I love your humor and your strength and your kind eyes. I loved you before I even realized it. And now… now you've found me. You _saved_ me. When you confessed to me before in the hospital, I… I am such an _idiot_. I-"

Her thoughts were cut short as a finger tipped her chin up and soft lips found hers in the dark. With a tiny gasp, her brain tried to register through the pleasure tingles that ran up and down her spine.

He broke the chaste kiss and she felt the smile on his face. He lifted a hand and brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that."

She smiled and touched her forehead on his.

"Then why did you stop?"

* * *

**DEC 2015 UPDATE: EPILOGUE(S) IN NEXT CHAPTER :D :D**

* * *

3333End33333

* * *

**If anyone was wondering about Naru-Naru and Belle-Belle, those are actually the real names of Naria and Eriya. Yes, yes, I am that much of a nerd that I know their names before Folken renamed them. I thought it fitting to use those names instead of their popular ones. Like Folken said, he met his light too late.**

** As always, I am so humble by everyone coming in to read my stories. I appreciate all of you who have taken the time and energy to read this monster especially. This was written with a lot of love and really worked as a stress reliever. (Hint: If you want to know why Belle-Belle was so insane at the end, let's just say I wrote that as a fantasy for my own job). **

** I hope you enjoyed the story all the same. Honestly, this was a LOT of work and I am actually quite pleased with how it turned out. But now that this is done, I set my sights on a new/old horizon and continue onward with my quest to finish my other stories. **

** Rutilius, watch yourself, girl. I'm lookin' at chu.**

** A pleasure as always! And now I tip my hat farewell for now!**

** Tata!**

**blue…**


	9. Chapter 9: Epilogue(s)

**I have had so many requests for more follow-up scenes to this story. I recently reread the entire thing and I was like, "Holy crap, I totally agree!". So here you guys are! :D Some little scenes to help wrap everything all together. **

**Also, the last chapter "Van and the White Dragon" has an extended ending! I actually wrote it first and then decided to cut it. At the request of several people, I decided to put it in. **

**So, please enjoy. :D**

* * *

Millerna closed the eReader down with a short sigh and placed the kindle on her desk. The story wasn't done, but she needed to get back to work soon. Leaning back in her chair, her blue eyes drifted to the open window to her left. A loud laugh echoed from the parking lot and she glanced down to see a man with long brown hair shaking the hand of a father who was holding his daughter on his hip. She watched Dryden brush the little girl's chin with a long finger and say something inaudible. The bandage around her forehead barely concealed the thin patchy black hair that draped unkempt from her head. It suggested she was enduring chemo.

The little girl was blushing and giggling at whatever he was saying. With a wave of his hand, Dryden opened a car door and knelt on the ground as if she was a princess. His white doctor's coat spilled over the concrete.

Once the daughter was settled and comfortable in her seat, he stood to shake the father's hand once more. Millerna noticed his knee was wet from kneeling in a puddle.

She smiled softly as her blue eyes followed his footsteps back to the front of the hospital. He turned as the car pulled out of the parking lot and gave his heels a silly click in the air.

And that was the moment when she realized.

* * *

The urn sat quietly on the table. A lone figure stood before it, memorizing the simple cream patterns edged in the ceramic pot. His tan hands clutched the head of his cane tightly. His black hair was pulled into a low ponytail at the base of his neck. His new suit was a pinstriped black - just like the one he used to wear before this nightmare all began.

"I never got to kick your ass, you son-of-a-bitch," Van muttered quietly to the urn. "You just had to go and die on me. Damn it, Folken..." Reaching up a hand, he rubbed his forehead and his fingers brushed the scar on his hairline. "What the hell, man... After all this time. After all _this_... you come back into my life and leave just as quickly. Fuck you, Folken. You are the biggest piece of shit. You go and you ruin _my life_ and then you gotta go and… fucking _save it…_" His voice broke on the words. The hot pain burned behind his eyes and he lowered his head to stare hard at the floor. "I won't cry over you. I won't."

The tears gently trailed down his cheeks.

"I won't. You don't deserve it, you bastard."

The little droplets dripped off his chin and hit the soft carpet silently.

Behind him, Hitomi stood at the doorway to the funeral room watching as her love raised a hand to cover his eyes.

* * *

"Still using a cane, eh, Fanel? You should stop by the hospital and have that checked out." Dryden's grin widened as the four of them stopped by the red silk table. Stepping up in a navy tux, the long-haired man held the chair for Millerna.

She rolled her blue eyes and tossed her blond hair over one shoulder, but she sat with a faint smile on her lips. "You'd never get any work done Dryden. You just want to play."

"What's wrong with a little R&amp;R from time to time?" Dryden asked with a good natured wink as he sat beside her. "I'm a busy man. Even I've got to have fun!"

"You have too much fun. I honestly don't know why the board members still keep you around."

"Hey, hey, don't be like that. I fixed that one, didn't I?" Dryden gestured at Van, who was still helping Hitomi in her seat.

Van immediately crossed his eyes at Millerna and said, "Yep, my brain good."

Hitomi laughed at him while the blond woman groaned, "You two are total idiots." Her blue eyes lightened as a thought crossed her mind. "Oh, Hitomi, I wanted to ask you. Did you ever finish that book that you were reading to Van?"

Hitomi's green eyes widened in surprise and she glanced at Van. He had just taken a sip of water and it choked him. Coughing, he shook his head.

"We completely forgot about it!" he wheezed.

"Yeah, we did!" she giggled. "I never got to read the ending."

Millerna sighed and shook her head. "The ending was totally wrong. The princess broke it off with merchant and-"

"Spoilers!" The neurologist cried covering his ears.

"You're going to read it, Dryden?" Van snorted.

"Hell no! I'll wait till the movie comes out!"

"They're making a movie?" Hitomi asked in surprise.

"It'll probably be nothing like the book." Millerna sniffed with distaste.

Dryden smirked at her. "You just said you didn't like the book."

"I said I didn't like the _ending_. That's totally different." She corrected.

"What didn't you like about it?" Van asked curiously.

The blond gave a long sigh and rested her chin in her hand. "Well, it was like the author had something going and then lost it. She had built up this everlasting love between the girl and the king and then they didn't even stay together in the end."

"Well, there goes the movie for me," Dryden crossed his arms in a mock-pout.

Hitomi felt Van's hand reach for hers under the table and give it a light squeeze. Glancing at him, she smiled softly into his shining warm eyes. He raised an arm and draped it over her shoulders; pulling her seat a little closer to him.

Dryden exchanged a quick look with Millerna, who was smiling.

"Welp! I'm starving." He said opening the menu and straightening his glasses. "Let's order some grub and stop spoiling the entire movie for me."

"You know what you're going to get, Hitomi?" Van asked.

Her eyes shimmered brightly as she giggled.

"T-bone steak, of course!"

* * *

Nineteen Months Later

Hitomi looped her arm loosely through Van's as they left the theater's glowing lights and headed down the darkening cold sidewalk. The early afternoon was beginning to set and the sky was streaked with orange and red.

"Wooo! Winter is in full swing!" She glanced at Van and grinned. "You were surprisingly quiet during the movie. I was expecting your usual line up of groans and making fun of the actors."

"I didn't want to this time around." Van said quietly.

"Well, it sure was strange to actually sit quietly through a movie for once. I can see what Millerna meant about how the girl and king don't stay together. Not what I would have expected. The movie changed a lot, too. Why was she suddenly _in_ the Escaflowne when she came to the other world? And what was this about _wing goddess? _And what in the world was up with their portrayal of the king? He looked nothing like what I expected."

"That's the movies for ya. Always gotta change everything that made the book good."

A small frown touched Hitomi's eyebrows as she watched the unusually stoic man bite his lip nervously.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"What?" He turned surprised.

"You look kinda funny. Are you feeling okay?"

"I… it's nothing." He shook his head. "Wanna walk through the park?"

She blinked. "S-Sure."

Turning left up ahead, they strolled together as they entered the small park. The cold wind brushed the leaves above their heads. Smiling softly, Hitomi leaned her head on his warm arm. "I thought the actor who played Knight did an okay job. Not who I could have cast for the part, but-"

"Hitomi?" Van stopped on the pathway suddenly and she glanced at him confused.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what today is?"

Her green eyes went wide and she tilted her head. "Today? It's December 22nd, right?"

His lips curled upward softly. "Today marks two years when I first met you."

She gasped lightly, "Oh! You mean in the hospital when I first read to you! You're right!" She laughed. "I didn't even know if you were listening back then. It seems so long ago... So many things have happened since then."

"I...I..." he gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

"Van, are you okay?" Hitomi reached up to touch his shoulder.

"Ever since that day two years ago, my life has changed so much. My world is... happy... ah, damn it! I'm so bad at this!" He ducked his head and she noticed through his bangs that his cheeks had turned scarlet. "I was alone and angry and... and... it felt like I was fighting by myself against a sea. But then, hearing you read to me... feeling you sit there beside me... I slowly got stronger. It was soon after Folken tried to smother me and you pulled me back that I realized what it was that was making me stronger. You gave me something to live for."

"Van..." she breathed his name in the cold air.

"And ever since that day two years ago, I've only grown stronger and stronger. It's something about you... It makes me... happy. So... _happy_." He reached into the pocket of his jacket and her mouth fell open. "I've had this since the day of Folken's funeral. I've kept it until I knew I was strong enough to ask you." Grabbing her trembling hand, he knelt in front of her and finally looked up into her eyes - those bright beautiful green eyes.

"Will you stay with me? Stay with me from now on?"

Several people in the park were already muttering as they watched him hold up the ring -a simple pink diamond. His heart was bursting in his chest. His adrenaline had skyrocketed and he was having trouble breathing. But he held the ring steady, his fingertips completely still. Waiting.

He gasped as she unexpectedly flung her arms around his neck and knocked him off balance. They tumbled to the dirt together, her body landing on top of his. Her lips pressed softly against his mouth and he immediately reached to the back of her head to deepen the kiss. His hand buried itself in her hair. She opened his mouth with her own and Van almost lost his grip on the ring.

The gathering crowd gave a loud cheer and they both opened their eyes in surprise. Breaking apart, she instantly jumped off his body and blushed prettily with embarrassment. Van sat up with a laugh, dirt clinging to the back of his jacket and hair. Taking the ring, he held it out to her.

"Marry me?"

Her hands slowly reached out and she took the ring from his fingers. Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead against his with a glowing smile.

The same smile that he'd felt so long ago from his bed in the hospital.

"Yes."

* * *

**I feel a lot better about this story now. I feel like that is a suitable ending to these poor characters. They endured quite a bit with me at the helm, so it's good that I can finally give them a proper ending. I hope you guys enjoy this little trip back into this world and I hope the holidays are treating you well. I'm off to post this and then purchase tickets for Star Wars - I'm a little late when it comes to that. **

**I am blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life and I want each and every one of you to know that I count you as a blessing. **

**To lifelong friends and true loves happily ever after.**

**blue...**


End file.
